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Referee chief Howard Webb has been urged to sack Lee Mason after he neglected to draw the offside lines when reviewing Brentford’s controversial equalizer at Arsenal.
Sportsmail exclusively revealed that Mason had even forgotten to use the offside lines, which would have ruled out Ivan Toney’s goal as Christian Norgaard, who passes the ball to Toney, was offside.
That’s potentially a huge two points lost for Arsenal and now former PGMOL boss Keith Hackett has called for Mason, an officer he has labeled a “serial offender”, to be sacked.
“Lee, a serial offender, has already been pulled once this season due to human error and I don’t think this is good enough – one of the first things Howard (Webb) needs to do is fire him,” he wrote in his telegraph column.
‘Lee would be at the bottom of the list of the best. She’s apparently past the point of requiring operational assistance, she no longer has a place.’
VAR Lee Mason should have ruled out Ivan Toney’s goal against Arsenal on Saturday
Mason (left) should now be fired, according to former PGMOL boss Keith Hackett (right)
Hackett, left ‘baffled’ by the barely credible mistake, continued: ‘You’ve had enough, knowing what’s required of VAR.
“It’s a difficult environment, refereeing, but if you’re a footballer and you don’t play, you’re out of the team.” The same has to happen with those in charge of refereeing the match if they are not up to the task.’
He described the standards in the Premier League as “very short” when it comes to VAR and Hackett wants Webb to take a strong stance to turn things around.
Sportsmail also revealed that Webb summoned all officials to Stockley Park for an emergency summit after two embarrassing – and potentially crucial – VAR errors in one day.
As well as Mason’s botch at Emirates Stadium, the officials were also under fire when Brighton saw a goal disallowed in a draw at rival Crystal Palace after VAR John Brooks drew the WRONG defender’s offside line.
A horrified Webb, understood to have reacted in disbelief, can now sack the bumbling pair after ordering an urgent review in which all options are on the table, according to Sportsmail’s sources.
The Yorkshire-born 51-year-old, who returned to the UK last year after a season in the US, has ordered all Premier League referees, assistant referees and VAR officials to meet on Tuesday.
Howard Webb summoned officials to an emergency meeting after two VAR howls on Saturday
Mikel Arteta was furious and Toney’s goal could have a big impact on this season’s title race
Attendance is believed to be mandatory as Webb seeks to prevent further catastrophes.
“He’s out of the game,” said Arteta. “You can’t block if you’re offside.”
“It’s (frustrating),” he said. ‘You have to apply certain principles in defense and you do it by following the rules, suddenly you change the rules and then you have to change your principles. So tell us before.
PGMOL’s statement on Sunday said: ‘Howard Webb has contacted Arsenal and Brighton to acknowledge and explain significant errors in the VAR process.
“Both incidents, which were due to human error and related to the analysis of offside situations, are being thoroughly reviewed.”
Fans and pundits alike were incredulous at the decisions, which could have huge ramifications with Arsenal pushing for the league title and Brighton targeting Europe.
‘Yesterday man. I can’t believe it… I can’t believe what I saw yesterday. What are the consequences for Brighton who are trying to get into Europe?’ Ian Wright said furiously on Instagram.
‘What are the consequences for someone like Graham Potter? We finally saw a Chelsea team doing a few things in the first half hour and I thought, ‘yes, Graham Potter, you’re starting to get it.’
‘What are the consequences for Arsenal, man? Trying to put together a title run, man, what are the consequences? They say the best league in the world, that’s what we say, ‘oh, the best league in the world’.
Those mistakes,” he added. ‘What’s going to happen to PGMOL, is someone going to get what? We’re going to get an apology, they’re going to get a suspension… a break disguised as a suspension.
You can’t blame technology. In two cases they drew the lines in the wrong place! Wrong fucking place!