The FA said: "It is alleged that comments made by Nuno Espirito Santo during a post-match interview constitute improper conduct as they were personally offensive to the match official and/or bring the game into disrepute contrary to FA Rule E3.1"
Thursday 31 December 2020 13:33, UK
Nuno Espirito Santo has been charged with improper conduct by the Football Association for his criticism of referee Lee Mason.
In his post-match interview, Nuno said that Mason did not have the "quality" to be a Premier League official following Wolves' 2-1 defeat at Burnley.
The Wolves head coach later refused to apologise to Mason, saying: "I will apologise for my timing. But I will not apologise for my words and my thoughts."
A statement from the FA read: "Nuno Espirito Santo has been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3 in relation to their Premier League match against Burnley FC on Monday 21 December 2020.
"It is alleged that comments made by the head coach during a post-match interview constitute improper conduct as they were personally offensive to the match official and/or bring the game into disrepute contrary to FA Rule E3.1.
"Nuno Espirito Santo has until Tuesday 5 January 2021 to provide a response to the charge."
Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood found the net as Burnley won 2-1 at Turf Moor on December 21.
Following the flat Wolves performance, Nuno decided to vent his frustration in Mason's direction, questioning whether the referee is up to the job of officiating Premier League football.
He told Sky Sports: "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.
"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."
