Moyes could face spell on sidelines after verbal attack on referee

As the clocked ticked through 90 minutes, David Moyes’ Everton side we’re trailing 3-1 to Manchester United and looking down and out.

But two goals from Tim Cahill and Mikael Arteta put Everton level with a minute of stoppage time remaining, before a promising break was cut short by the final Martin Atkinson’s final whistle.

This prompted an enraged David Moyes to invade the pitch and confront Atkinson in the centre circle which has led to the Football Association charging Moyes with a misconduct charge.

“That was a terrible decision in my book,” said Moyes, “The two goals were scored after 90 minutes and they’d put up three minutes of extra time, he [Atkinson] didn’t get his time right because there was more time to add on for the goals and he played three minutes 30 seconds.”

Moyes and assistant Steve Round have until Thursday to respond to the charge, and if they accept, they will be subject to a £8,000 fine, but if either denies the charge, their case will be held in ten days and they could face a sideline ban.

This would be a huge blow to Everton as Moyes could find himself in the stands for the home derby with Liverpool on October 17th, which would certainly hand the advantage to Roy Hodgson’s team.

But a guilty plea means Moyes won’t face a spell in the stands and Everton fans hope he’ll be able to use some of that motivational magic as they prepare for a home game with Newcastle on Saturday.

Everton are 8/13 to beat Newcastle and Moyes will be looking for his first win of the season to lift Everton out of the relegation zone.

Everton are 33/1 to be relegated. See the full Everton vs Newcastle match betting market here.