Wolves boss Nuno Espírito Santo charged for pitch celebrations

Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Nuno Espírito Santo has been charged with misconduct by The FA over his match celebration during Wolves’ 4-3 win over Leicester City.

Santo ran onto the Molineux pitch after Diogo Jota’s late injury-time winner and will now face a fine and possible touchline ban for his actions.

An FA statement read:

“Nuno Espírito Santo has been charged with misconduct relating to his behaviour in the 93^rd minute of the game between Wolves and Leicester on Saturday.  He has until 18:00 on 24th January 2019 to respond to the charge.”

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp was fined £8,000 for similar antics during the Merseyside derby in December when Divock Origi stole the game late on for the Reds.

Santo accepted that his behaviour was unacceptable and acknowledged that referee Chris Kavanagh made the right decision by sending the Portuguese manager to the stands.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the 44-year-old stated:

“It’s the law, it’s not bad intention, it’s not (meant to be) disrespectful,” the Wolves boss said. “I’m so happy.

“It happened before with other managers, in that moment it’s difficult to contain your emotions.

“The law is clear. There’s no explanation. After all the situations which passed in the game to finish like that is tremendous happiness for everyone, I’m no exception.

“The referee explained to me, it was clear and it was a good decision. He told me I was not allowed to go outside the technical area.”

Wolves travel to Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup on Saturday before they welcome West Ham United to Molineux in the Premier League the following Tuesday.