Lee Mason: Video Assistant Referee leaves PGMOL and will no longer work on Premier League games after offside error cost Arsenal v Brentford | football news
Lee Mason: Video Assistant Referee leaves PGMOL and will no longer work on Premier League games after offside error cost Arsenal v Brentford | football news
#Lee #Mason #Video #Assistant #Referee #leaves #PGMOL #longer #work #Premier #League #games #offside #error #cost #Arsenal #Brentford #football #news Welcome to InNewCL, here is the new story we have for you today:
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Video assistant referee Lee Mason has left the PGMOL officials panel and will no longer work on Premier League games following his high-profile error in Arsenal’s tie with Brentford.
Mason had been a Premier League referee for 15 years during which time he oversaw 287 Premier League games, most recently in the closing stages of the 2021/22 season. However, the 51-year-old, who has worked exclusively as a VAR this season, has twice been ruled out of work on a round of Premier League games following high-profile errors.
The first came in September when he disallowed a Newcastle goal against Crystal Palace.
He was then handed a similar penalty after failing to draw the lines and noticing Christian Norgaard being offside when the Brentford player provided the assist for Ivan Toney’s late equalizer at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
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Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher analyzes how VAR Lee Mason missed Christian Norgaard for offside ahead of Brentford’s goal against Arsenal.
PGMOL later apologized for the mistake, which Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta called ‘unacceptable’. He said the error cost Arsenal two points.
The draw with Brentford allowed Manchester City to come within three points of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League and Pep Guardiola’s side surpassed the Gunners with a win on Wednesday night.
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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says he appreciates the PGMOL’s apology but insists the VAR decision that allowed Brentford’s equalizer was ‘unacceptable’.
“We finished it [Brentford] game, after analyzing it with the evidence and images, with great anger and disappointment,” Arteta said in his pre-match press conference at City.
“Because it wasn’t a human error. That was a big big big not to understand and understand your job. This is unacceptable, I’m sorry. And that cost Arsenal two points and that will not be recovered.”
PGMOL confirmed Friday night that Mason had left the organization by mutual consent. The 51-year-old played over 500 games throughout his professional career after being promoted to the Football League in 1998.
A PGMOL statement said, “We would like to thank Lee for his dedicated service to the professional game and wish him well in the future.”
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Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher analyzes how VAR Lee Mason missed Christian Norgaard for offside ahead of Brentford’s goal against Arsenal.
Ref Watch: “Lee Mason forgot to complete the check”
INCIDENT: The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) have conceded that a “significant error in the VAR process” was responsible for Brentford’s offside goal being awarded in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal. This has not been fully investigated by VAR. They checked for a block – but not for offside from Christian Norgaard. How can this happen?
FORMER PREMIER LEAGUE REF DERMOT GALLAGHER SAYS: “If the referee thinks he had a material impact on the player, yes [they can be offside].
“When the free-kick comes, Ethan Pinnock – who starts offside – is all he is. It cannot be ruled offside at this point because it did not affect the outcome of that ball.
“Pinnock comes back for offside and the next problem comes when Pinnock comes from an offside position, but if the ball is played while he’s on the side, as soon as he heads it it’s Norgaard – he’s the player who is in the offside position.
“Norgaard then crosses and Ivan Toney scores.
“VAR Lee Mason did two reviews and they were very comprehensive – it took three minutes.
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WATCH FREE: Highlights from Arsenal’s Premier League draw with Brentford.
“He assumed Pinnock was in an offside position – there’s no doubt about that. He decided because the ball is so high that he can’t head the ball, so he doesn’t interfere with the game because he didn’t touch it.
“Does he act on a defender? I think the VAR looks at it and he’s behind it, so it’s difficult. He judges it as no foul, which is a subjective element.
“He’s focused so much on it that I think he shuts it down. He forgot to finish it.
“It’s not panic, but it’s ‘I took three minutes and didn’t find an insult, people will wonder why I checked it so many times.’
“He doesn’t check Norgaard’s offside and that’s where the problem started.
“It’s a human error, bought at the price of time flies and three minutes is an eternity for a viewer. You can hear her, and that must be playing in his head.
“He just closed it a little early.”
Why didn’t the VAR wizard point out the error?
DERMOT SAYS: “I don’t know to be honest. Again, I wonder if he was sucked into the same vacuum in terms of time.
“If they had gone a little further, they would have gotten the right answer.
“In my opinion it was easy to say: ‘Ivan Toney scored, was he offside? No. Standard because Norgaard crossed the ball. Was he offside? Yes.
“That’s the easy part. But in their process, they take it from the free kick and that’s how they do it.”
FORMER ARSENAL STRIKER KEVIN CAMPBELL: “It’s great to know there’s an apology, but what does it actually do? Because of all the eyeballs that are turned on [the game] – The VAR officer has an assistant, but what does he see?
“If everyone else could see it, they should be able to see it too.
“More training? Come on, this is crazy stuff as far as I’m concerned. It’s just people not doing their job right – it’s as simple as that.”
How long did the VAR check take?
The verification took two minutes and 26 seconds. That equates to two minutes and a second for West Ham’s VAR check for Tomas Soucek’s disallowed goal for a Declan Rice offside, meaning the Brentford check wasn’t particularly long as the VAR oversaw the Norgaard offside incident overlooked because he had spent too long concentrating on the earlier Pinnock incident.
