Staff Reporter.
Nottingham Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has been hit with a three-match touchline ban and fined £55,000 after accepting a misconduct charge from FA.
Espirito Santo was dismissed by referee Robert Jones for his furious reaction to Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White’s red card in the 2-2 draw at the Amex Stadium on 22 September.
The FA statement said Espírito Santo “acted in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words towards a match official.”
Espírito Santo was handed a two-match ban, but the misconduct activated a further one-match touchline ban from a previous suspended charge.
The Forest boss said he was surprised at the extent of the sanction, telling reporters: “There’s nothing we can do. It’s not for me to judge, my job is to move forward and make sure the coaching staff are ready to help the team.
“We had a hearing, everything was normal. The sanction has been decided. Let’s go.”
Gibbs-White was also banned for a match and fined £20,000 after acting “in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words towards the fourth official after being sent off” in the same match.
Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler was fined £8,000 for acting in an “improper manner.”
Forest were hit with £750,000 ($979,526) fine earlier in October over a social media post from last season that was aimed at video assistant referee Stuart Attwell.