VAR official Lee Mason has left the PGMOL by mutual consent and will no longer officiate in the Premier League.
Mason came under scrutiny after making a major mistake in Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Brentford last weekend. VAR incorrectly allowed Ivan Toney's equaliser to stand, after failing to check whether Christian Norgaard was stationed in an offside position. PGMOL issued an apology for the mistake which prompted Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta to criticise the quality of Mason's officiating.
The Arsenal boss said: "I appreciate the sincere, genuine apologies, but it doesn't take away the fact we have two points fewer. Everyone makes mistakes but that was something else. I wasn't having it, the club wasn't having it.
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"There was huge anger and disappointment because that wasn't human error, that was a big misunderstanding of your job. That is not acceptable, I'm sorry. It cost Arsenal two points, we'll have to find those two points somewhere else in the league."
Mason was taken off VAR duty for the next set of Premier League fixtures following his error, but has decided to step down from his role entirely.
The PGMOL released a statement announcing Mason's departure, which read: "PGMOL can confirm that Video Assistant Referee Lee Mason has departed the organisation by mutual consent. Lee was a Premier League referee for 15 years and oversaw 287 top-flight matches during that time, with his last coming during the closing stages of the 2021/22 season.
"His full career in the professional game saw the 51-year-old officiate in over 500 fixtures after he progressed to the Football League in 1998. We would like to thank Lee for his dedicated service to the professional game and wish him all the best for the future."
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