CESC FABREGAS will not face sanctions from the English FA despite claims that he had questioned the referee Lee Mason’s integrity as the players left the pitch at half-time during Arsenal’s fractious game with Everton on Tuesday.

The home players were incensed over the visitors’ 24th-minute goal, which they claimed was offside. Sources in and around the tunnel at the Emirates Stadium suggested Fabregas had shouted “How much have you been paid?” as he made his way to the dressing room. It is unclear whether he was supposed to have been directing the comments at Mason, the fourth official Kevin Wright, or either assistant referee.

Had the officials heard such a comment directed at them, even in the tunnel, Mason would have felt compelled to send the player off. The FA confirmed yesterday the referee had made no special mention of the incident in his report, and the matter is now effectively resolved.

The Spain midfielder issued a statement last night that fell short of an apology, but did include an admission that things had been said “in the heat of the moment”. “Yes, I was upset at half-time,” he said. “So too were about 60,000 Arsenal supporters in the stadium. We were 1-0 down against a very good Everton side to a goal which we felt was offside. Of course I am going to be upset. Players from both sides were saying things as we came off the pitch, and this always happens in football.

“I’m passionate about this club and, like all the players, want to win every single match, so many things are said in the heat of the moment. Clearly the officials feel that nothing serious happened, as I understand the referee has not included anything in his match report. All I can say is that I have respect for all match officials. Their job is a very difficult one and their decisions are final.”

The Everton manager, David Moyes, had claimed to have heard Fabregas say something “disgusting” in the tunnel which would have warranted his dismissal. “Cesc Fabregas should have been sent off for his comments about the officials as he was coming up the tunnel,” Moyes said on Tuesday. “If he’d said them on the pitch he would have been off. Why should it be any different in the tunnel?”

Arsenal denied that Fabregas had confronted the referee at half-time, with Arsene Wenger insistent that he himself had spoken “politely” to Mason to query Louis Saha’s goal. “I was next to Cesc Fabregas at half-time,” Wenger said. “He didn’t speak to the referee at half-time. I spoke to the referee.”

Fabregas pointed to his team’s second-half revival – Arsenal won courtesy of goals from Andrey Arshavin and Laurent Koscielny – as confirmation that their title challenge remains credible. “It is a very inspiring comeback and maybe we needed something like that to lift us and see that even with injuries and suspensions, we can still have a really strong squad,” Fabregas said.

Arsenal trail Manchester United by five points and are still to play the leaders at the Emirates.

Lukasz Fabianski will undergo an operation to his shoulder that is expected to rule him out for the rest of the season. The Arsenal goalkeeper’s worst fears were confirmed after a consultation with a specialist.Wenger has already suggested that Wojciech Szczesny had become his number one.

Guardian Service