Sunday 23 November 2014 12:19, UK
West Ham captain Kevin Nolan is unhappy referee Mark Clattenburg allowed Romelu Lukaku’s opener stand in the 2-1 defeat at Everton.
Lukaku appeared to collect the ball while in an off-side position after Ross Barkley’s shot was cleared off the line by a combination of Winston Reid and James Collins.
Several West Ham players remonstrated with Clattenburg after he awarded the goal and Nolan was far from amused with the explanation that he was offered by the referee.
“It was quite strange what he said,” Nolan told Sky Sports News HQ. “He said our defender passed the ball to him which I don’t really get.
“It’s a block and it’s a cop-out if the referee and the linesman are saying that because at the end of the day it was a block.
"The lad’s shooting at goal and the defenders on the line are throwing themselves at the ball and Lukaku was in an off-side position.
“That’s the be-all and end-all and you can never ever defend it. You’ve just got to hold your hands up and say ‘I got it wrong’. Then we’ve got to take it on the chin and he’s got to take it on the chin.
“It’s just disappointing when they come up with silly things like that.”
