Arsenal given official dropped for VAR blunder as Lee Mason discovers fate
Referee John Brooks is scheduled to be part of the officiating team for Arsenal 's weekend game against Aston Villa, whilst Lee Mason has been dropped following his blunder against the Gunners.
The pair saw their positions called into question over the weekend's round of Premier League fixtures for dire errors. Mason was part of the VAR team at Stockley Park for the North Londoners' controversial draw with Brentford.
After Leandro Trossard had given the hosts the lead, Ivan Toney equalised as he latched onto Christian Norgaard's knock-down. VAR allowed the goal to stand despite the midfielder appearing as though he was offside.
It has since emerged that Mason forgot to draw the lines on Norgaard's touch of the ball, having focused on an earlier phase of play in the move. He has now felt the wrath of his employers with Mason a notable absentee from the latest round of fixtures following his error.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was left furious come the final whistle having expressed his displeasure during his press conference. He said: "Yes. I just looked and it is offside, yes. It is frustrating but they will probably give an explanation later in the week.
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"Today we haven’t got one. You have to apply certain principles in defending but that depends on you following the rules."
John Brooks also made an error at the weekend (Getty Images)What is the worst refereeing mistake in the Premier League this season? Share your suggestions in the comments below
Elsewhere, Brooks incorrectly disallowed Pervis Estupinan’s goal for Brighton against Crystal Palace after drawing the lines from the wrong defender. He was originally set to be named as VAR for Monday night’s Merseyside derby and Arsenal’s key clash with Manchester City on Wednesday but was replaced for both. Andre Marriner and David Coote respectively stepped in.
The punishment appeared to have ended there though. The Premier League have confirmed that Brooks is still set to play a part during the coming week having been scheduled to be the fourth official for Arsenal's trip to Villa Park on Saturday afternoon.
PGMOL chief Howard Webb has contacted both clubs regarding the mistakes. A statement read: "PGMOL can confirm its Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb has contacted both Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion to acknowledge and explain the significant errors in the VAR process in their respective Premier League fixtures on Saturday.
"Both incidents, which were due to human error and related to the analysis of offside situations, are being thoroughly reviewed by PGMOL."
Refereeing controversy in the Premier League did not quite end with the two incidents involving Mason and Brooks. Chelsea were hugely unfortunate to not get a penalty against West Ham following a Tomas Soucek handball.
Meanwhile, Leicester's Harvey Barnes saw a goal chalked off against Tottenham despite the VAR lines seeming as they though were also drawn in the wrong place.
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