Referee Lee Mason ‘stood down by the Premier League

 

Referee Lee Mason has been stood down by the Premier League, who have sought to remove him from officiating in any form during the weekend’s upcoming games following recent VAR errors.

Mason has been taken out of the firing line after his involvement in two overturned red cards, alongside fellow official Mike Dean.

Mason was the video assistant referee [VAR] and Dean was the on-field referee for the two matches last week in which West Ham United’s Tomas Soucek and Southampton’s Jan Bednarek were shown red cards.

Controversy raged and many pundits and supporters alike made their fury known at the implementation of VAR, but it was officially deemed that both decisions would be overturned following appeals.

It is now reported, via the Times, that Mason will temporarily be taken off duty for Premier League games before being reinstated in his position.

The news comes after it was also confirmed that Dean will not be taking part in any match officiating for the upcoming Premier League matches.

The 52-year-old and his family received death threats in the aftermath of the incident and Sportsmail revealed on Monday that the referee asked not to be selected for this weekend’s games.

It is not the first time the pair have been caught up in questionable decision making.

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On January 30, when Mason was the referee and Dean the VAR, Southampton were controversially denied a penalty for an apparent handball by the Aston Villa defender Matty Cash.

The Professional Game Match Officials Ltd’s (PGMOL) in-house psychologist is expected to have sessions with both Dean, 52, and Mason, 49, to help them to move on from the errors and to deal with the abuse they have faced.