West Ham was disadvantaged against Brighton because Kudus didn’t play - David Moyes

West Ham United manager David Moyes expressed frustration over Ghana’s decision to prevent star player Mohammed Kudus from participating in their Tuesday night game against Brighton, believing it put them at a disadvantage.

The Hammers intended to include the 23-year-old in the match before he joined the Black Stars camp for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations preparations, starting in 10 days in Ivory Coast.

However, Ghana coach Chris Hughton was concerned about the risk of injury in the goalless draw game.

In a post-match interview, Moyes highlighted the inconsistency, questioning why Mohamed Salah was allowed to play for Liverpool on Monday while Kudus was denied permission to feature a day later.

“Unfortunately, for some reason, we were not allowed to play ours when Mo Salah could play for Liverpool last night. We weren’t able to play ours today,” Moyes stated.

When asked if Kudus would have played with permission, Moyes responded, “Maybe. Maybe. I don’t think that is a question. Brighton might have the same feeling. I can’t see why at this point you’d play a game and be disadvantaged by some of the players not being able to play.”