Monday 17 August 2015 06:54, UK
Alan Pardew felt Lee Mason ducked a decision by not dismissing Francis Coquelin during Crystal Palace's defeat to Arsenal.
The visitors' holding midfielder twice risked a second booking in Sunday's Premier League clash at Selhurst Park - once when he fouled Wilfried Zaha shortly before the break and again when he was whistled for a challenge on James McArthur.
Each time, the referee settled for a stern word, and Coquelin was eventually replaced by Arsene Wenger with Arsenal leading 2-1.
That is how the game finished, and Pardew told Sky Sports: "The tackle before half-time wasn't a sending-off at that point, but I said to Lee Mason: 'that's it, that's his last chance, you know that, don't you?'
"He kind of said 'yeah', and then (Coquelin) makes the foul and I'm afraid that's 'off'. Arsene knew that and substituted him straight away. It's a decision, in my opinion, Lee Mason needs to be braver on."
Pardew did not attempt to pin the blame for defeat on the referee, instead pinpointing as "the turning point" the moment when Connor Wickham hit the post shortly after half-time with the score 1-1.
"It was a fantastic effort," he said, "and if that goes in it would have been a different result. We played well, but when Arsenal are as sharp as they were today it's very difficult.
"I think there were times today we showed a level up from last year, but actually we probably made more mistakes than most games we play in.
"That's probably because Arsenal pen you in and you have to take risks to play out, but we played some terrific stuff, there were some really great performances."
The best of them, according to Pardew, belonged to summer signings Wickham, Yohan Cabaye and goalkeeper Alex McCarthy, who twice denied Arsenal a counter-attacking third late in the game.
"I thought the goalie, our No 9 and Cabaye - the three guys we brought in - were probably our pick, and that bodes well because we know the others are great."
