RIO DE JANEIRO, May 2: Brazilian referee Wilson Souza de Mendonca has been suspended for three weeks after refusing to let a player wear a protective mask during a game on Sunday. Fluminense midfielder Romeu, who was playing with a broken nose, was ordered by Mendonca to remove the mask before the start of the derby against Vasco da Gama.

“His attitude was lamentable and authoritarian,” said Edson Rezende de Oliveira, head of the Brazilian Football Confederation's refereeing department, as he announced the decision.

“Facial masks are permitted by FIFA,” Oliveira told Brazilian radio. “This information is on the organisation's official website.

“He's not above the rules and he shouldn't have acted that way.”

Despite the CBF's ban, Mendonca is due to take charge of Wednesday's all-Brazilian Libertadores Cup tie between Palmeiras and Sao Paulo.

Romeu played in Sunday's game and was substituted during the second half.—Reuters