WATCH: “He cannot control the players”: Nuno Says Lee Mason Should Not Be Allowed To Officiate A Match Again: The Wolverhampton man could face a fine for his comments on Lee Mason
Miffed after Wolverhampton fell to a lacklustre 2-1 defeat against Burnley, Wolverhampton’s Nuno Espirito Sanchez was particularly infuriated at referee Lee Mason. Launching an incredible attack on the referee for the match, Nuno was unsparing in his assessment of Mason’s performance on the night.
Nuno Says Lee Mason Should Not Be Allowed To Officiate A Match Again
Not mincing his words, Nuno who is known to lash out at referees went as far as to say that Mason should not be allowed to referee another match in the league.
“The referee does not have the quality to whistle a game in the Premier League,” Wolverhampton’s Nuno said after his side’s defeat. “This is a problem that we knew – we had Lee Mason before.
🗣 “The referee doesn’t have the quality to referee a game in the Premier League”
Nuno Espírito Santo’s post-match rant about referee Lee Mason 🤬 pic.twitter.com/8gStoX1dfE
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) December 21, 2020
“It is not about the crucial mistakes or decisions, it is about the way he handles the game.
“The players get nervous, too much voices, he whistles by the voices when some players are shouting.
“We are talking about the best competition and clearly he doesn’t have the quality to whistle the game.
“I’m very disappointed to say this but I would not feel right if I didn’t say it.
“I just don’t want to see him more – that’s what I told him. I hope he doesn’t whistle a game of ours again because all the games we have with Lee Mason are always the same.
“He cannot control the players, the players are constantly arguing – both teams. With all the other referees the game flows, there’s dialogue. He’s just not ready to do it.”
FA Contact Wolverhampton Over The Comments
The Football Association has taken note of Nuno’s comments with the governing council asking Wolverhampton for their comments on Nuno’s interview. If found guilty, Nuno could end up being fined for his belittling of Mason or even worse be banned for an amount of matches.
Wolverhampton who fell to a defeat at Turf Moor were lucky to see Joao Moutinho avoid a red card towards the tailend of the encounter. In what looked like a certain red card offence, Moutinho was inexplicably let off the hook despite VAR being consulted.
Wolverhampton were also fortuitous to be awarded a late penalty after Fabio Silva went down under Josh Bowen’s challenge. Despite being an extremely soft call, Wolverhampton saw the decision being ruled in their favour to see the club pull one back after going down to strikes by Wood and Ashley Barnes.
“Everyone knows I’m a fan of VAR but I was surprised the lad didn’t get sent off,” he said. “It’s not a vicious stamp but it’s a stamp nonetheless. With VAR, some things they see and some things they don’t.
“I don’t understand how it’s not given. It was looked at. I just find that impossible.”
“The three hardest jobs in the match are the two managers and the referee,” he said. “Players go down and scream, that’s not helpful.
“It’s really difficult for referees. If players took more responsibility then the refs would be helped,” Burnley’s Sean Dyche said of Mason’s performance on the day.
