Burnley 2-1 Wolves: Referee Mason ‘not good enough’ in ‘tough’ defeat says NunoWolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo has been asked by the Football Association to explain his comments criticising referee Lee Mason.
Nuno said after Wolves’ 2-1 defeat at Burnley that Mason “is not good enough” to officiate at the top level.
The Portuguese manager queried the way in which Mason “handles” players, adding that he “worsens the flow of the game”.
The FA will decide whether to act once it has received Nuno’s observations.
Under current FA regulations, post-match comments that criticise the performance or competence of a match official are permitted unless they imply bias, attack the official’s integrity, are personally offensive, are prolonged, or are particularly unreasonable.
Monday’s game was the second time Mason has officiated Wolves this season.
“It is his job. He has to improve, he has to get better,” Nuno told BBC Sport.
While it is difficult to statistically measure how well a referee lets a game flow, Mason has given fewer free-kicks for fouls than the majority of Premier League referees this season.
He has awarded an average of 19.8 fouls per game this campaign, with only two referees registering a lower average – although the 26 fouls he gave in Wolves’ loss to Burnley was higher than the overall league average of 22.7 per match this term.
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