Video Assistant Referee Lee Mason faces sack call from fellow ref after Arsenal howler is THIRD in two seasons
Keith Hackett, a former Premier League referee, has called for the dismissal of Lee Mason following his mistake during the Arsenal vs Brentford match.
Mason is under intense scrutiny for his role as a dedicated VAR after he failed to thoroughly examine the controversial equalizing goal by Brentford.
Arsenal had taken the lead through Leandro Trossard, only for Ivan Toney to score a header from close range a few minutes later.
Replays showed that Christian Norgaard was offside when he headed the ball back to Toney, yet the goal was allowed to stand despite a lengthy VAR check that lasted more than three minutes.
A significant part of the VAR review focused on whether Ethan Pinnock was offside in the initial phase of the free-kick, while Mason failed to draw the lines for the crucial assist.
Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager, expressed his disappointment with the decision and stated that he expected an apology from the Professional Games Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the organization responsible for overseeing top-flight matches.
“I just looked back and it is offside,” said Arteta. “They will probably give an explanation later in the week but today we have not got one.”
Keith Hackett, who was a Premier League referee for nearly 20 years, has called for the removal of Lee Mason and urged the new PGMOL chief, Howard Webb, to take action. Hackett stated, “Howard Webb is now in charge of the PGMOL. One of the first things he should do is dismiss permanent VAR operator Lee Mason.”
“This weekend, Mason lets another referee down by not disallowing the Brentford goal for offside. These are decisions that VAR should get right.”
Lee Mason’s recent mistake is just one in a series of errors that have raised questions about his suitability as a dedicated VAR official. Two years ago, he was suspended from VAR duties after wrongly overturning two red cards in a match between West Ham and Southampton.
Earlier this season, he again received criticism after he wrongly disallowed a late winner by Newcastle United against Crystal Palace.
In response, Howard Webb has been appointed as the new PGMOL chief to improve the use of VAR and promote greater transparency.
“I’m really all for openness and transparency, trying to draw that curtain back on the decision-making,” Webb said earlier this week. “I think when people can see the rationale for a decision, understand it better – they might not agree with the outcome – but at least they’re more understanding or accepting of why it happened.
“We’re trying to do some work with the broadcasters so you can tell the story to people back home, but also the people in the stadium need to know too.”
In addition to the controversial incidents involving Arsenal and Brentford, there were also other mistakes made during Premier League matches on the weekend.
Brighton’s Pervis Estupinan had a goal disallowed due to a human error by the VAR, while Chelsea felt hard done by as they were not awarded a late penalty despite clear evidence that the ball had hit Tomas Soucek’s hand inside the box.
These errors have added to the growing list of controversial decisions that have come under criticism for the implementation of VAR technology in the Premier League.
Video Assistant Referee Lee Mason faces sack call from fellow ref after Arsenal howler is THIRD in two seasons
