Mason was at the heart of controversy during Brighton’s loss to West Brom on Saturday
Lee Mason will miss the Premier League game between Sheffield United and Liverpool on Sunday due to injury, reports have claimed.
Mason was due to be a fourth official at Bramall Lane but has been replaced on the sidelines by John Brooks, with Jonathan Moss on refereeing duties.
The official had been at the heart of a controversial decision to eventually rule out a Brighton goal from a free-kick by Lewis Dunk in the south coast side’s 1-0 defeat to West Brom on Saturday – despite Dunk claiming after the game that Mason had given him the go ahead to take the set piece.
Mason had appeared to rule out the goal instantly, only to change his mind after Brighton player protests. Moments later, the decision was reversed yet again, with West Brom awarded a free-kick.
Here is the full incident that saw Lewis Dunk’s free kick chalked off.
An absolute mess from start to finish pic.twitter.com/xo7kXGLIVT
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) February 27, 2021
Despite the controversy, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has confirmed to Sky Sports that his absence from Sunday’s game is down to injury picked up in the same game.
Speaking after the game, Dunk described Mason’s decision as “embarrassing”.
“I’ve got to come here and speak about it in front of camera, why doesn’t he speak about it?” Dunk asked. “Why doesn’t he come here and say what he thought? I know what he said.
“I said ‘can I take the free kick?’ He said ‘yeah.’ I took it, I scored.
“Gives the goal, massive protests from them, and he changes his mind.”
