Lee Mason should have been punished, not sacked – axing referee for blunder against Arsenal was too harsh
Tony Cascarino believes Lee Mason should not have lost his job over his VAR blunder in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brentford.
The Professional Game Match Officials [PGMOL] board confirmed on Friday the departure of the 51-year-old, who hit the headlines last weekend for failing to spot an offside in what was ultimately his final Premier League match.
That lapse of duty incorrectly allowed Ivan Toney’s equaliser to stand as the Bees claimed a share of the points - which left Gunners boss Mikel Arteta furious.
The result cost the north Londoners in the title race and it was made even worse by their subsequent defeat to title rivals Man City, which saw Arsenal knocked off the summit for the first time since August.
Mason, who became a dedicated VAR at the start of last season following his retirement as a referee, was initially stood down from active duty for the next round of top flight fixtures, before the news of his departure from the Premier League and PGMOL by mutual consent.
While he has departed, though, John Brooks - who incorrectly disallowed a Brighton goal against Crystal Palace - is back on duty, and they are far from the only officials to get things wrong this season.
And talkSPORT pundit Cascarino, together with Weekend Sports Breakfast co-host Natalie Sawyer, says giving Mason the boot was too harsh.
“I find this story very odd,” began Sawyer. “I feel like there’s maybe a bit more to it that we don’t know. It just seems a bit over the top…”
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Former Chelsea and Republic of Ireland striker Cascarino replied: “I agree, totally. You’ve got to back people.
“Yes, he’s made a mistake, he’s made a blunder, but there were other people involved in that blunder as well.
“If you’re going to go hardcore on the decision if referees make a mistake like that, then it doesn’t really encourage people to be referees.
“You’re going to make mistakes. Obviously there are really bad ones, which that was, but I feel like he was punished and then hopefully he wouldn’t make that mistake again.
“If it was a continuing offender, which some people may argue he is, but then it’s not even three strikes and you’re out - it’s two.”
As Cascarino mentioned, it’s not first time Mason been stood down from duty this season, having already been punished in September after wrongly disallowing a Newcastle goal for a foul in their match at home to Palace.
Sawyer added: “It might actually be mutual consent, so he might be happy to walk away because the spotlight has been on him and he has perhaps not enjoyed it.
“But I do think it’s sad that someone’s career can end like that on a human error, at the end of the day.
“Of course there will be fans who are delighted by the news and probably think more of the same should happen to other referees.
“But you have to remember this is a game where there are going to be mistakes that are made. Players make mistakes all the time, but we don’t drive them out of the game that often.
“I just think it’s a bit sad that it’s come to that, although I understand that he made a costly mistake.”