West Ham boss Moyes questions Lanzini ban

West Ham United manager David Moyes has questioned the Football Association’s decision to hand midfielder Manuel Lanzini a two-game ban for simulation, saying there is a lack of consistency regarding incidents that warrant a suspension.

Lanzini was banned for “successful deception of a match official” during last Saturday’s 3-0 Premier League win at Stoke City, with an independent regulatory panel agreeing that the Argentine had dived to win the penalty that led to the opening goal.

The FA rejected West Ham’s appeal of the ban on Tuesday, making Lanzini the second player to be retrospectively banned for simulation after Everton’s Oumar Niasse.

“I‘m disappointed because I don’t see much consistency,” Moyes told reporters after West Ham’s 1-0 League Cup defeat by Arsenal.

”There’s another incident which was turned down. I wonder how they could get to that conclusion where everyone was unanimous on the decision.

“It sounds as if, I‘m not sure even in this room that everybody would be unanimous and that was what was said it had to be.”

Lanzini, 24, missed the away defeat to Arsenal in the League Cup quarter-finals and is also ruled out of West Ham’s home league game against Newcastle United.

Moyes lauded his team’s performance at the Emirates but felt experienced midfielders must be recruited in the January transfer window after 18-year-olds Domingos Quina and Declan Rice were fielded for a much-changed West Ham side on Tuesday.

“I think we have been making progress and winning games and we’ve been well organised and hard to play against. We showed that again tonight,” Moyes added.

”But what we’re seeing as we go along is the next step is adding quality. Tonight we were short on midfield players and generally we’re short in that area and we could do with adding a little more craft.

“It’s an area we’re short at the moment. But January is never the easiest month to deal with.”