Nuno Espirito Santo will be furious with latest Premier League announcement ahead of West Ham vs Burnley
Nuno Espirito Santo is likely to be furious that the Premier Leauge has annouced that Michael Salisbury has been appointed the referee for West Ham’s upcoming game against Burnley.
With the Hammers facing a crucial early match in their battle to survive, the manager is going to have to contend with an official he has condemned in the past.
Nuno has often clashed with officials in the Premier League, with many of their decisions controversially affecting his results in a negative way.
However, Salisbury’s performance in Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 defeat to Brighton in the 2023/24 campaign saw the manager fuming after the match.
Nuno Espirito Santo previously fumed over ‘serious mistake’ by Michael Salisbury
With West Ham returning to winning ways against Newcastle, Nuno will be hoping for a repeat of this success on Saturday.
However, if Salisbury oversees a similar performance as he did in Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 defeat to Brighton in March 2024, it could prove to be a difficult task.
In a close match, Nuno felt that the Seagulls’ Jakub Moder should have been sent off for his challenge on Neco Williams.
Yet, Salisbury did not give the midfielder his marching orders, producing only a yellow card, and VAR failed to intervene.
- Nuno was brought into West Ham in September
- The manager has previously found success at Wolves and Nottingham Forest, keeping both sides up
- However, Nuno has his biggest challenge yet at West Ham
As a result, Nuno criticised Salisbury to Nottinghamshire Live on 10 March 2024.
In part of his interview, he said: “It’s a red card. It’s a serious mistake – we don’t know how the game would go, but today in football having an extra player on the pitch makes a big difference.
“We were on top of the game. We were dominant and were creating problems for Brighton.
“It’s a bad decision of the VAR. I don’t only judge the referee, but I saw the image, and it’s a clear red card.”
Therefore, with such an important game on the horizon for West Ham, Nuno is unlikely to be happy that such a controversial referee has been appointed.
A victory over Burnley could see the Hammers rise out of the relegation zone, whereas a defeat could see the mood swing against the manager.
As a result, Salisbury will have to be at his best, or he may face the wrath of Nuno at full-time.
West Ham have a poor record under Salisbury
Unfortunately, West Ham also have a poor record in Salisbury’s matches.
In the six games he has overseen, the Hammers have only won twice, losing three of these matches.
Nine yellow cards have also been produced against West Ham, while a man has also been sent off.
Therefore, the Hammers’ task is seemingly getting harder going into arguably the most important game of the season to date.
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