David Moyes has come to the defence of Adnan Januzaj following the player’s booking for diving during Manchester United’s game against West Ham.

Januzaj was booked for diving for the second time this season but Moyes insisted his player was not a diver but rather a player in need of the protection of referees due to the heavy and frequent tackles he faces.

"If you look at the last two games and the amount of tackles that this boy has had to take, he has had more than any other player," Moyes said.

"He thought he was going to get scythed down. He's been getting kicked in every game. We'll talk to him about it but I said last week that there were a lot of people having a kick at Adnan because he's very difficult to mark and he's elusive the way he moves.

"It can bring defenders into tackles but it's the referees that have to call it right. I just hope that they don't wait until he gets a bad one before they get it right."