By Ed Malyon
David Moyes has called for HIS OWN player to be reprimanded by the FA after Marouane Fellaini appeared to headbutt Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross in the second half of Everton’s Premier League fixture at the Britannia Stadium.
The Belgian international became involved in an off-the-ball incident with Shawcross at a corner.
Although the 6ft 4in midfielder seemed to clearly turn and strike the England centre-back with his head, referee Mark Halsey didn’t spot the incident and therefore Fellaini went unpunished.
Nonetheless, Everton boss Moyes is expecting imminent action from the FA, something he endorsed in a post-match interview with the BBC.
“He deserves to get the punishment. I’ve seen it, it’s a terrible thing to do and I expect him to be punished. It’s down to the FA,” said the Scot.
“I’ve told him it’s not acceptable and whatever he gets, he and us deserve it.”
Asked how he might compensate for losing a player as influential as Fellaini to suspension should the 25-year-old be handed a ban by the FA, Moyes said: “There is no absence yet.
“But he is a really good player and a big part of the team, and that is why I think the biggest disappointment, if anything does happen, is that he will have let the team down.”
He added: “I only normally complain if I think we are getting hard done by and I have said a few things about how I think we have been treated by decisions recently.
“So I think if you are going to talk about it with your own team… Today, it should have been a sending-off in the game.
“If the referee had been able to see it, it should have been.”
Potters boss Tony Pulis was less concerned about Fellaini’s act in itself, than by what he views as a trend of officials missing such incidents when perpetrated against his side.
“I’ll let David deal with Marouane Fellaini but the one thing I will say is we have now had three incidents this season,” the Welshman told Sky Sports.
“David Luiz for Chelsea made a poor challenge and Ciaran Clark at Aston Villa made a poor challenge and that, along with this, are three incidents where we haven’t had a decision go for us and that’s disappointing.
“In my opinion all three of these incidents should been sending offs. I like Mark [Halsey], he is a good referee but maybe he has not seen it.”
