KALVIN PHILLIPS waited for half an hour outside ref Tom Bramall’s dressing room seeking the reason for his red card.
But the gutted West Ham midfielder, 28, eventually admitted defeat after his first ever Premier League sending-off.
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Manchester City loanee Phillips picked up two yellow cards in three minutes during the 2-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest.
First, he pushed Nicolas Dominguez who tried to stop him taking a quick free-kick before being shown a second yellow for a challenge on Morgan Gibbs-White.
Phillips said: “I waited outside the referee’s room to have a chat with him.
“But after half an hour he hadn’t come out. I don’t know if he knew I was there or not.
“I didn’t want to batter him. I just wanted to have a conversation about it.
“In the end, I’m going home without saying my piece.
“I’m just disappointed, more so because I’m working to get myself back into a position where I can help — but now I’ve got to miss a game.”
England international Phillips has, so far, endured a terrible loan spell at the London Stadium.
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But Hammers boss David Moyes was quick to leap to his defence after his early bath at the City Ground.
The Scot said: “The sending-off was a huge blow because the game was tight and we were always in it at 1-0.
“The minute we went down to ten men it was going to make it twice as hard.
“I thought Kalvin played much better today, he did a lot of good things.
“I hadn’t seen it coming. The crowd played a huge part in backing Nottingham Forest, with the referee, and played a part as they always do here.
“The first one the boy’s blocking him and he pushes him away because he’s trying to play the game quick, as we’re trying to get back in the game and win it.
“Nowadays you get booked for standing in front of the ball, so he shouldn’t have pushed him, I get that.
“The second one – I’ve only been told – I haven’t seen it.
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“But they are saying the two boots are very close and they just come together.
“It looks like there was quite a meal made of it but that’s the way it is.”
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