Wolves boss says he ‘never wants to see Lee Mason again’ after huge ref rant

Nuno Espirito Santo TEAMtalk

Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo was furious with the performance of referee Lee Mason after his side lost 2-1 at Burnley on Monday night.

Ashley Barnes’ first goal in more than a year set Burnley on their way to victory as their resurgence continued.

Barnes ended a 17-game run without a goal when he headed home midway through the first half, while a thumping effort from Chris Wood early in the second made it the first time Burnley had scored more than once in a home game since February.

They could have had more on an encouraging night, spoiled only by Fabio Silva’s late penalty for Wolves, as Burnley made it eight points from their last four games to put a slow start to the season behind them.

But after the game, Nuno was scathing in his assessment of ref Mason.

Nuno told Sky Sports: “The referee does not have the quality to whistle a game in the Premier League. This is a problem that we knew – we had Lee Mason before.

Mason not good enough

“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.”