Nuno said Mason didn’t have the quality needed to officiate in the PL
Nuno Espirito Santo has been fined by the FA after he criticised referee Lee Mason, the Athletic are reporting.
The FA investigated the Wolves manager for criticisms he made of Mason following his team’s loss to Burnley on the 21st of December, and after a personal hearing they have handed him a £25,000 fine and warned him about his conduct.
The comments that landed Nuno in hot water include him alleging that Mason “does not have the quality to whistle a game in the Premier League.”
“Honestly I don’t like to say it, but I must say it because I will not feel right: the referee does not have the quality to whistle a game in the Premier League,” Nuno said after the 2-1 defeat.
“This is a problem that we knew. We already had Lee Mason before. It is not about the crucial mistakes or the decisions, it is about the way that he handles the game.
“The players get nervous. Too much voices. He whistles by the voices when some players shout. He does not have [it]. We are talking about the best competition and clearly he does not have the quality to whistle the game.
“I am very disappointed to say this, really disappointed to say it, but I would not feel right if I did not say it. It happened before.”
He added: “I just don’t want to see him more. That is what I told him. I hope that he does not whistle a game of ours again because all of the games that we have with Lee Mason are the same.
“He does not control the players. The players are constantly arguing, both teams. With all the other referees, the game flows, the decisions are accepted, there is dialogue. He does not do it.”
