Sunderland Hit With £20,000 Fine

Sunderland have been fined £20,000 for the charge brought against them relating to allegedly failing to control their players when referee Lee Mason awarded visiting team Everton a penalty in the recent 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light.

Club officials admitted the charge and were therefore hit with what amounts to a slap on the wrist, with a view to instigating an improvement in their footballers' behaviour in the future.

Mason blew up for a foul following Connor Wickham's tackle on Irish right-back Seamus Coleman in the box, which saw the Black Cats' forward taking to ground and being forced to go through his man in order to get a touch on the ball.

Sunderland's players surrounded the referee in absolute fury, which had undoubtedly built up due to a series of strange decisions from the man in the middle leading up to the penalty award.

Leighton Baines converted the spot-kick with 14 minutes left on the clock to cancel out Seb Larsson's wonderful opener and claim a point for his team.

Though he probably got the call correct on Wickham's rash challenge, there'd been a whole host of unusual interpretations of events by the Bolton-based official that could have been a mitigating factor in the reaction from the home side when he whistled for a penalty.

Even so, the squad will be reminded of their responsibilities in an effort to avoid such an event occurring again anytime soon.