Lee Mason not among match officials for Premier League games starting on Saturday due to injury; Mason was at the centre of controversy during West Brom's 1-0 win against Brighton as Lewis Dunk's quickly taken free-kick was not allowed to stand
Tuesday 2 March 2021 14:21, UK
Premier League referee Lee Mason will not officiate this weekend as he continues to recover from a calf injury sustained in Saturday's controversial game between West Brom and Brighton.
He was replaced as fourth official for Sunday's match between Sheffield United and Liverpool at Bramall Lane due to the injury.
At the weekend, Mason disallowed a free-kick goal by Lewis Dunk, before awarding it only to then rule it out after the video assistant referee intervened as Brighton lost 1-0 at The Hawthorns.
After the game, Brighton captain Dunk described Mason's decision as "embarrassing and horrendous" and claimed the referee lost control of the game.
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher told Sky Sports News:
"I've been in situations in games where I've lost focus for a little while. I think that's the key thing: Lee has lost focus here.
"He's tried to regain it, he's realised, but he's lost a little bit of concentration, and he's not quite in that zone for making accurate decisions.
"He should never have had the free-kick taken in the first place, but having done that, he's then got to follow the process through. He's quickly realised, and quite rightly blown a second time to stop that, to control it, but the ball has entered the net.
"It's at that point the VAR has told him that the ball has not entered the net before the whistle, so therefore the goal doesn't stand.
"The fact he's gone across to the bench has given him that thinking time, created that time for him to get his thoughts and himself together, so that when he goes back, he's in a better frame of mind to restart that situation."
