West Ham are considering an official complaint over the Callum Wilson “goal” which denied them a crucial win at Bournemouth on Boxing Day.
The fuming east Londoners are to make their feelings clear to referees’ chief Mike Riley before deciding whether to pursue the case with the FA.
They believe the incident should be treated in the same way as it would have been had Wilson dived to win a penalty.
Referee Bobby Madley, who took charge of the 3-3 draw, has been vilified for his performance.
But the fuming Irons believe Madley was successfully deceived by Wilson when he handled the ball into the net.
They believe the striker, already in an offside position for the injury-time equaliser, admitted as much in his post-match interviews.
Wilson said: “I put a little touch on it, to our delight, but not so much for West Ham.”
David Moyes confronted Madley - who overruled his assistant, Simon Long, to award the goal - at the final whistle. The Hammers boss then vented his fury at the decision in his post-match press conference.
Ex-referee Dermot Gallagher said: “They came to the conclusion that Wilson had not touched the ball, which was incorrect as he did touch the ball and it also went in off his arm.”
Hammers’ midfielder Manuel Lanzini received a two-game ban for successful deception earlier this month after winning a controversial spot-kick at Stoke.