Lee Mason

EXCLUSIVE BY KIERAN GILL: The VAR incorrectly allowed Ivan Toney's equaliser to stand, after forgetting to check whether Christian Norgaard was offside.

Mason was a Premier League referee for 15 years and oversaw 287 top-flight matches during that time. The PGMOL told Sportsmail on Tuesday night: ‘We accept mistakes were made... 'There was huge anger and disappointment because that wasn't human error, that was a big misunderstanding of your job. I wasn't having it, the club wasn't having it. 'I will only be satisfied if they give the two points back,' Arteta said. VAR Lee Mason is leaving the PGMOL and will no longer officiate in the Premier League, Sportsmail can reveal.

The ex-Premier League referee made an error in the recent Arsenal vs Brentford match which cost the Gunners a goal.

[Howard Webb](/topic/howard-webb), who has vowed to improve the level of officiating in the Premier League, [called a midweek meeting ](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/howard-webb-var-decisions-errors-b2281193.html)following last week’s errors. [initially stood down](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/lee-mason-var-arsenal-referee-b2281939.html) from the group of officials for this weekend’s fixtures as a result. [failed to spot an offside in the buildup to a Brentford goal](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/arsenal-var-mikel-arteta-lee-mason-b2282207.html), leading Mikel Arteta to state the 51-year-old was guilty of “not conceiving and understanding your job”, saying it was “not acceptable” that he hadn’t disallowed the strike.

Lee Mason has left his role as a Premier League VAR official less than a week after his high-profile error during Arsenal's draw with Brentford.

[called officials to an emergency VAR meeting](https://theathletic.com/4187266/2023/02/12/arsenal-brighton-var-howard-webb/) after being forced to apologise to Arsenal and [Brighton](https://theathletic.com/football/team/brighton-and-hove-albion/) over the “significant errors”. [Arsenal](https://theathletic.com/football/team/arsenal/)’s draw with [Brentford](https://theathletic.com/football/team/brentford/). [Ivan Toney](https://theathletic.com/football/player/ivan-toney-VfYkRN3FErfXXTZN/)’s equaliser in the 1-1 draw.

Christian Norgaard appeared to be in an offside position before providing an assist for Ivan Toney to level the score for the Bees, who went on to take a point ...

"At the same time we appreciate the apology and the explanations and we got a lot of sympathy from colleagues in the industry and in football who say that we cannot play the game with the integrity like we do. Hopefully that will help because of what happened last weekend." "That costs Arsenal two points that’s not going to be restored.

Lee Mason has left the PGMOL less than a week on from his high-profile error in Arsenal's draw with Brentford.The Professional Game Match Officials.

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Mason was responsible for an offside howler in Arsenal's clash with Brentford and he has now left his role as a Video Assistant Referee.

A statement reads: "PGMOL can confirm that Video Assistant Referee Lee Mason has left the organisation by mutual consent. Following discussions with PGMOL, and yesterday's Select Group One review meeting, we support PGMOL's views on addressing these issues to improve performances going forward." Mason had spent 15 years as an on-pitch official before transitioning into his new role as a full time VAR last summer. We would like to thank Lee for his dedicated service to the professional game and wish him all the best for the future!" That's despite Christian Norgaard taking up an offside position in the build-up and it later emerged that Mason had "forgot" to draw the relevant offside lines. And now PGMOL have released a statement confirming Mason's departure by mutual consent after more than 15 years as a Premier League official.

Lee Mason was on VAR duty for Arsenal's match against Brentford last week.

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi was less critical of the VAR decision which went against his side last weekend in their match with Crystal Palace. The decision is said to be 'mutual', but it's unlikely to appease [Mikel Arteta](/latest/mikel-arteta) who was left fuming at Arsenal being robbed of two precious points. The official was then left off the appointments list for this weekend's Premier League fixtures. VAR in the Premier League has come under scrutiny this season for a number of questionable decisions. I wasn't having it, the club wasn't having it. Mason was under increased scrutiny for his decision to allow Ivan Toney's equaliser against Arsenal.

Lee Mason has left his role as a Premier League official by 'mutual consent' in the wake of the VAR controversy in the match between Arsenal and Brentford.

"Lee was a Premier League referee for 15 years and oversaw 287 top-flight matches during that time, with his last coming in the closing stages of the 2021/22 season. "That was a big not understanding your job, and that's not acceptable. "We ended the game with huge anger because that wasn't a human error," he fumed. That costs Arsenal two points." "We would like to thank Lee for his dedicated service to the professional game and wish him all the best for the future." Lee Mason has left his role as a Premier League official by 'mutual consent' in the wake of the VAR controversy in the match between Arsenal and Brentford.