Martinez commends referee after Kone suffers alleged racist abuse
Everton manager Roberto Martinez praised referee Lee Mason for taking action after striker Arouna Kone allegedly suffered racist abuse in the FA Cup fourth-round win over Carlisle United.
Kone put the visitors ahead after just two minutes at Brunton Park and both he and team-mate Steven Pienaar appeared upset by some shouts from the crowd as they celebrated.
A tannoy announcement warned supporters against abusive language and Cumbria police put out a statement shortly afterwards to appeal for members of the crowd to report any incidents of racist behaviour they may have heard.
Mason made the decision to issue the announcement after consultation with Martinez and Carlisle boss Keith Curle, and the Spaniard was full of praise for the officials' handling of events.
"I thought it was dealt with in a good manner," he said after the match to BT Sport. "Straight away the Carlisle manager Keith Curle and myself agreed to make an announcement.
"I thought the referee dealt with that well. The worry was it would be a 90 minutes of abuse but it was just a reaction to a goal being celebrated."
Everton manager Roberto Martinez praised referee Lee Mason for taking action after striker Arouna Kone allegedly suffered racist abuse in the FA Cup fourth-round win over Carlisle United.
Kone put the visitors ahead after just two minutes at Brunton Park and both he and team-mate Steven Pienaar appeared upset by some shouts from the crowd as they celebrated.
A tannoy announcement warned supporters against abusive language and Cumbria police put out a statement shortly afterwards to appeal for members of the crowd to report any incidents of racist behaviour they may have heard.
Mason made the decision to issue the announcement after consultation with Martinez and Carlisle boss Keith Curle, and the Spaniard was full of praise for the officials' handling of events.
"I thought it was dealt with in a good manner," he said after the match to BT Sport. "Straight away the Carlisle manager Keith Curle and myself agreed to make an announcement.
"I thought the referee dealt with that well. The worry was it would be a 90 minutes of abuse but it was just a reaction to a goal being celebrated."