Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo has refused to apologise for claiming Lee Mason is not up to Premier League refereeing standards.
Nuno hit out after Wolves' 2-1 loss at Burnley on Monday night following his side's third defeat in four games.
The Portuguese coach claimed match official Mason “does not have the quality to whistle a game in the Premier League” as he criticised his handling of numerous games.
The FA contacted Nuno for his observations after the comments and talks have been scheduled for Tuesday December 29, which could see the Wolves boss fined.
Nuno admitted the timing of his remarks was clumsy but stood by the nature of comments ahead of his side's home game on Sunday against Spurs.
Nuno, 46, in charge since May 2017, admitted: “It was probably not in the best moment.
“For that I apologise on my timing but I will not apologise on my words or thoughts.
“I never ever will judge or question the integrity of a referee.
“I will probably never do it in my life
“What I said was about the ability of the referee. We are in the best competition in the world. We expect high levels of performances.
“As managers and players we always want to improve.
“I am the first one to admit we didn't perform so well.
“But what we expect from the referees is to handle the players and handle the game.
“This is what we want. We want referees to improve.
“We want to be in the best competition with the best managers, best players and best referees.
“We want the referees to let the games flow and the control the players and have dialogue with the managers.
“Refereeing the game can be a tool to teach, to make players understand it is a tough job."
Was Nuno right to hit out at the standard of refereeing? Have your say here.
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