De Zerbi, 44, landed himself in hot water with the FA for comments he made prior to the international break following the Seagulls' 1-1 draw against Sheffield United. Brighton midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud was sent off by referee John Brook - an act which proved to be the catalyst for some controversial post-match comments.
"I am honest and clear. I don't like 80 per cent of England's referees," De Zerbi said bluntly during his media duties. "It's not new. I don’t like them. I don’t like their behaviour on the pitch."
The Italian was expected to be punished after reports outlined that his comments were being looked into by English football's governing body. However, a new report from The Mail has revealed that De Zerbi has avoided an FA charge and has only received a formal warning for his outburst.
The same report goes on to outline that the FA's failure to punish De Zerbi has not gone down well at Arsenal, whose manager Mikel Arteta was charged for comments he made over the standard of officiating in the Premier League following a defeat against Newcastle at the start of this month.
The Gunners chief was given more time to answer an FA charge this week and it's understood that the Spaniard and Arsenal could include De Zerbi's comments in their defence to underline the that Arteta has, in this instance, been singled out.
Arteta was hit with a barrage of criticism for his comments after he branded the decision to allow Anthony Gordon's goal to stand in the 1-0 win as "an absolute disgrace". He has also come under fire for his touchline behaviour this term, too, with Martin Cassidy, the chief executive of Ref Support UK, describing his antics as "worrying".
De Zerbi was not punished for comments he made claiming he disliked "80 per cent of English referee
He said earlier this month: “This trend of clubs making statements is very embarrassing in my opinion. They would have more credibility if they addressed and made a public statement about the unacceptable behaviour of their players or manager.
"Mikel Arteta's touchline behaviour is the worst in the Premier League and his behaviour is a large part of the problem in football. He has become a Mercedes version of Neil Warnock.
“His behaviour and comments, that now appear to be supported by Arsenal as a club, is very worrying for me and the game in general. This statement [by Arsenal], in my opinion, is nothing other than an infantile moan.”
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