A fatal mistake that caused Arsenal to lose the lead ends the career of an English referee
The FA Referees Committee announced last night the consensual departure of Lee Mason after committing a foul while being a video referee during last week's 1-1 draw between Arsenal and Brentford in the Premier League. Brentford's equaliser through Ivan Tony saw then-league leaders Arsenal drop two points in the title race but replays showed the goal should have been ruled out for offside. Without that top scorer, Arsenal would now be two points ahead of Man City, even with their recent loss to City.
The referees committee said later on Sunday that decisions against Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion in league games on Saturday were due to "human error". "The referees committee can confirm that video assistant Lee Mason has left the panel by mutual consent," the referees committee said in a statement last night.
Mason, a 15-year Premier League referee, oversaw 287 games in the competition during that period, most recently in the latter stages of the 2021-2022 season.
"His entire professional career saw the 51-year-old referee manage more than 500 games after his Premier League career began in 1998," the committee said. Brighton felt that their chances of qualifying for one of the European competitions next season were dealt a heavy blow at Crystal Palace when they drew 1-1 after the referee ruled out Pervis Estopinan's goal for offside.