Sunderland boss wants FA to keep the passion in the English game

The Black Cats were hit with a £20,000 penalty four days ago for admitting a charge of failing to ensure its players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion following the decision to award Everton a penalty on November 9.

Poyet has never had a problem with the decision to award a spot-kick for a foul on Seamus Coleman, but was disappointed with the referee's report from match official Lee Mason which led to the club facing the charge.

The Sunderland boss has no dispute with the fact that many of his players surrounded Mason, but he thinks the FA need to consider how they want the game to be played.

“We got charged £20k is it right? I think there's a line. Let's not make people lose our passion, because then we become robots, and those robots, some people in England want to make, but the more you make robots the more you suffer at international level,” said Poyet.

“If you want to win a game in that way (passionless), fine, you won't. When you're playing internationals, you need to play at an international level. In England when you smash someone like we love, you can't do that in Europe because it's a foul. When you put your leg up and you touch the ball with your studs that's not a foul in England but it's a foul in Europe. You need to learn both games.

Poyet is adamant that his players were merely voicing their opinion at the height of a hard fought Premier League fixture.

The FA would argue the penalty and the charges handed out - in circumstances such as the one on November 9 – are a result of breaching the rules and goes against the drive for greater respect for match officials.

Poyet said: “I had a similar situation in Brighton and we had to pay the fine but I totally agreed with that one, but this one I didn't expect. I wasn't even thinking about it. I accept it when there's a mistake but there's a line of passion and not caring.

"We have to respect referees, there's a fine line between what the word respect means. It might be seen as disrespectful by one person but not another. Who makes that decision? You or me? If I was on the board, no charge, if you were, then you're charged.

"If I was to do a simple petition, I'd say let's be careful, let's make sure the line remains at a good level where respect is clear and I agree with that but let's make sure we don’t lose the passion.”

Sunderland could ask the players to pay the £20,000 fine themselves, just weeks after the squad clubbed together to recompense the club’s fans the cost of a match-day ticket following the 8-0 defeat to Southampton.

He said: "We're trying to deal with these situations, with the captain and players in a better way. We don’t want to pay fines, obviously. We make sure we're still a team and we know what we're doing with just a little bit more control.

"We'll try to change, because we've learned from a silly mistake, but don't bring that line lower and lower then you become robots.

“I was disappointed because I didn't think it was that bad. It wasn't a bad image of football. Sometimes you say we can't show the world, because it's bad but it wasn't like that. If it's that, then I agree, you pay the fine.”

Sunderland return to Premier League action at Leicester on Saturday and striker Steven Fletcher has shrugged off an ankle problem picked up on international duty with Scotland. Fletcher trained yesterday and is set to start up front against the Foxes.

Defender Sebastien Coates and winger Ricky Alvarez are available after lengthy lay-offs, although Poyet is in no rush to throw them in to his starting line-up.

* Former Sunderland goalkeeper Iain Hesford has died at the age of 54. The Zambian-born shot-stopper made 112 appearances for the club before moving to Hull City in a deal which saw Tony Norman head the other way.

Hesford also spent six years at Blackpool and a Sunderland statement read: “The club are saddened to learn of the passing of former goalkeeper Iain Hesford – sincere condolences to Iain’s family and friends.”