‘He was 30 yards behind the play’ — Hughes hits out at referee’s fitness

MARK HUGHES was perched on a chair, brow furrowed, hands clasped together. There was no need for a body-language expert to explain his mood.

A huge afternoon ended with his Southampton side being deprived of two crucial points in their fight for survival. Hughes was ready to take aim.

Jon Moss, the referee, was his target. Critical decisions made in injury time had altered the course of a contest that the visitors had deserved to win.

Hughes’s message was that Moss was not fit enough to cope with the demands of a top- flight contest. Phrases such as ‘ 30 yards behind play as he usually is’ and ‘he’s probably getting his breath back’ were spoken.

Some forms of criticism are simply unacceptable and the FA will surely take a dim view of Moss’s physical capabilities being questioned.

But one aspect of the Welshman’s critique was completely justified. When there is so much money riding on the outcome of these games, it is a prerequisite that officials are on top form, and that wasn’t the case when it mattered.

Moss brought the focus on himself in the final 10 minutes. The stand-out moment was his decision to penalise nathan Redmond for a ‘foul’ on Ramiro Funes Mori. Hughes was livid that Moss made the decision from 30 yards away when his assistant, Edward Smart, was almost on top of it.

To exacerbate matters, neither Smart nor Moss stopped play when Everton took the free-kick from the wrong place.

‘I felt comfortable we were going to see that through,’ said Redmond, who scored his first goal of the season. ‘I don’t think it’s a foul. The linesman hasn’t given it so I’m not really sure what he’s seen there. Then they take the free-kick 10 yards ahead of where it was.’

The free-kick led to Tom Davies’s equaliser. Might Southampton’s defence have been more solid had Maya yoshida still been on the field?

yoshida was booked, correctly, for a second time for a foul on Oumar niasse, but his first yellow was contentious. Funes Mori’s rolling and screaming convincing Moss to issue a caution.

‘Having the sending- off and then referees not doing their job happens too often,’ said Hughes. ‘ We shouldn’t worry about which referees we have got. They should be the best and, unfortunately, they are not.’

Hughes can take comfort that a similar performance against Swansea tomorrow will keep Southampton in the top flight.

Everton boss Sam Allardyce, booed throughout, pointed criticism in the direction of the home fans. He said: ‘ They never saw anything exciting, which was disappointing. next season we’ll strive to get better.’