Xabi Alonso responds to David Moyes' 'disgraceful' claim after West Ham Europa League defeat

Xabi Alonso has responded to West Ham United manager David Moyes' accusations, defending his Bayer Leverkusen side against claims of unsportsmanlike conduct. Moyes had branded the Leverkusen bench «a disgrace» for their reaction to a foul by Lucas Paqueta on Amine Adli, which resulted in a yellow card and Paqueta's suspension for the upcoming Europa League quarter-final second leg at the London Stadium on April 18.

The incident unfolded near the dugouts, with Moyes suggesting that Leverkusen's staff tried to influence the decision of referee Artur Dias. Alonso, however, dismissed the allegations, stating: «Oh no, I think it was a tackle that deserved a yellow card. It was fully deserved. I think David's talking with the fourth official a lot of times, we all do, I do as well.

»It's nothing to talk about disgraceful. I think that we have all the right, he has to see his bench as well. I have respect for David but I thought it was the right decision from the referee. We did our thing, we didn't focus on the other bench."

Leverkusen's victory was sealed with goals from Jonas Hofmann and Victor Boniface, putting West Ham in a difficult position for the return fixture Moyes expressed his disappointment, particularly with the opposition's conduct, reports the Mirror: «Lucas will be a huge miss but I thought their bench was a disgrace.

»He got surrounded. I thought it was disgraceful and that was really disappointing. Did they get him booked? I think so — you should let the referee make the decision and not the way they reacted to the incident.

«It was a poor thing for them to do because they are a good side and they didn't need to react like that. Leverkusen have a good record of scoring late.

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