Lee Mason leaves VAR role ‘by mutual consent’ after criticism over errors

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

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Former Premier League official turned full-time Video Assistant Referee Lee Mason has departed his role, the PMGOL have confirmed.

The move comes after Mason was responsible for a huge error last weekend which saw Brentford awarded a goal wrongly against Arsenal.

A statement said: “PGMOL can confirm that Video Assistant Referee Lee Mason has departed the organisation by mutual consent.”

Mason, who was the man in the middle for approaching 300 top-flight games during his on-pitch career, transitioned to a full-time VAR official but has often been accused by managers of performing poorly in both roles and he has been removed from weekend fixtures on account of mistakes on multiple occasions.

Most recently, Mason failed to spot an offside in the buildup to a Brentford goal, 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.

Mason was initially stood down from the group of officials for this weekend’s fixtures as a result.

Now, however, he departs on a more permanent basis after refs’ chief Howard Webb, who has vowed to improve the level of officiating in the Premier League, called a midweek meeting following last week’s errors.

In another high-profile blunder, Brighton had a goal by Pervis Estupinan ruled out for offside because the lines were drawn from the wrong Crystal Palace player.

Earlier in the season, Mason was removed from the officiating list in September, having wrongly disallowed a Newcastle goal.

Former referee and PGMOL boss Keith Hackett had called for Mason to be sacked and pointed out he was a “serial offender” when it came to high-profile mistakes.

He has now paid for those errors with his job, as Webb looks to restore confidence in the decision-making process and bring integrity to the VAR role.