West Ham's Michail Antonio hits out at officials after Europa exit

West Ham United forward Michail Antonio expressed his dissatisfaction with the refereeing during Thursday's Europa League quarter-final against Bayer Leverkusen.

Antonio claimed that his team was "playing against 14" due to what he perceived as biased decisions.

Despite drawing 1-1 in the second leg, West Ham's 2-0 deficit from the first leg resulted in their elimination from the competition with a 3-1 aggregate score.

Spanish referee Jose Maria Sanchez handed out a total of 10 yellow cards, five to each team, which led to frequent interruptions and frustrated Antonio, who was among those booked.

Antonio stated that it felt like they were not playing against 11 men, but rather against 14, including the two linesmen.

He emphasized the need to persevere, make favorable decisions, and maintain professionalism despite the circumstances.

Antonio expressed disappointment with the lack of assistance from any decision throughout the game and believed that some of those decisions could have altered the outcome.

Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong scored the equalizer in the 89th minute, securing their place in the semi-finals and extending their unbeaten streak to 44 matches in all competitions this season.