West Ham United’s manager, David Moyes, expressed his dissatisfaction with the situation where Liverpool was allowed to field Mohamed Salah against Newcastle United, while his team couldn’t include Mohammed Kudus ahead of the AFCON. As the 2023 AFCON approaches, European clubs are facing the prospect of losing key players for the month-long continental event. According to FIFA regulations, clubs were required to release all players participating in the tournament by New Year’s Day.
David Moyes🗣 thinks he should have been allowed to play 🇬🇭Mohammed Kudus against Brighton like Liverpool did with 🇪🇬Mohammed Salah the day before. pic.twitter.com/dPkyVasoRU
— George Addo Jnr (@addojunr) January 3, 2024
Liverpool used Salah in their match against Newcastle on January 1, and he scored twice in their 4-1 victory.
However, West Ham faced a different scenario as their game against Brighton was rescheduled from January 1 to January 2 for live broadcasting on Sky Sports. Consequently, players like Kudus and Nayef Aguerd were unable to participate in the goalless draw against Brighton on Tuesday.
Expressing his frustration, Moyes highlighted the perceived unfairness in Liverpool being able to play Salah while West Ham couldn’t field their African players.
“It feels a bit strange that we’re playing on January 2. Could we not have played on the first so our African players would be allowed to play as well?” Moyes questioned, as quoted by the Mirror. “I feel that’s something which isn’t correct. I just think why could we have our African players the same as everybody else. I don’t see at this point why you would play a game and be disadvantaged by some of your players not being able to play.”
Kudus, a key contributor with eight goals this season, was notably absent from West Ham’s lineup in the mentioned game.
