Lee Mason's VAR blunder during Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Brentford on Saturday has infuriated Mikel Arteta and the Gunners faithful.
The north Londoners broke the deadlock in their tense Premier League clash with the Bees as January signing Leandro Trossard poked home Bukayo Saka's low-cross in the 66th minute. Brentford frontman Ivan Toney netted the equaliser just eight minutes later, although it has since been revealed that Mason forgot to draw the relevant offside lines in the build-up to the goal.
Midfielder Christian Norgaard, who assisted Toney, was in fact offside - a blunder that resulted in the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) contacting Arsenal and explaining the significant error. And it turns out this isn't the first time that the north Londoners have been left aggrieved by Mason.
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Back in 2016, the Gunners played out a 0-0 draw with Southampton and Arsene Wenger, who sat in the Emirates' managerial dugout at the time, took aim at referee Mason after the full-time whistle. “It’s always the same with you,” Wenger said to Mason.
Similarly, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has also spoken out about the officiating of Mason. The German was incensed after the Reds had been denied a penalty for what appeared to be a foul on Mohamed Salah during a 1-1 draw with Fulham during the 2020/21 campaign.
Andre Marriner was the referee that day but Klopp singled out Mason, who was in charge of VAR. "What exactly did Lee Mason say?" Klopp asked journalists in his post-match press conference.
"I am not sure what Lee Mason is doing at home but that is not 'normal contact' in football. It’s not a big deal but there is contact and it’s enough contact to get an advantage.
"It’s a foul. But we cannot change it, I only spoke about it because you asked me."
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