West Ham United will not use ‘dark arts’ in final says Moyes

David Moyes insists West Ham will not resort to the use of dark arts following Fiorentina’s admission they will employ tactical fouls in next Wednesday’s Europa Conference League final.

The Serie A club’s boss Vincenzo Italiano has outlined his strategy for the showpiece in Prague, stating it will be necessary to combat the Hammers’ most potent threat.

“We will try to not give them dangerous balls and to work on tactical fouls, preventative tackles, to avoid counter-attacks. These are the counter-measures to play against this kind of attitude,” said Italiano.

But Moyes promises that West Ham, who are aiming to win their first trophy since defeating Arsenal in the 1980 FA Cup final, will stick to the rules.

“It will be down to the referees to sort that out and not for us to have a huge opinion on it,” he said.

“We’ll try to play a fair game and from my point of view that’s always the best way to try and do it.”

West Ham have completed the Premier League season without receiving a single red card while also incurring the lowest number of yellows in the competition with 43.

“I didn’t know that stat and it’s obviously a good stat. You always want to be well disciplined in finals and in any games. Hopefully that’s the way it remains,” added Moyes.

“You also hope that the referees are looking at that and saying, ‘they’re a well disciplined side going about their job correctly’. Hopefully they’re doing their homework as well.”