Referees chief Howard Webb calls meeting for Premier League officials after offside errors

Split image. Left image: Video screen displaying the message "Checking Goal". Right image: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta argues with the match official after Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Brentford.
VAR incorrectly ruled in favour of a Brentford goal during the west London side's clash with Arsenal. Credit: PA

Referees’ chief Howard Webb has called a meeting of Premier League officials after two high-profile offside errors at the weekend.

The refereeing body - Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) - issued a statement on Sunday confirming Webb had contacted Arsenal and Brighton to acknowledge and explain mistakes made in their matches on Saturday.

VAR Lee Mason failed to check an offside in the build-up to Ivan Toney’s equalising goal for Brentford against Arsenal, while John Brooks incorrectly ruled a goal for Brighton was offside because the lines were drawn from the wrong Crystal Palace player.

The PGMOL has now confirmed that Brooks has been replaced for two Premier League fixtures he was slated to officiate this week.

Brooks had been due to act as VAR for Monday night’s Merseyside derby and the Arsenal vs Manchester City match on Wednesday, but the PGMOL said he has been replaced by Andre Marriner and David Coote respectively for those matches.

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Appointments for the next round of Premier League games are set to be confirmed at midday on Tuesday, which is always the case when there is a match on a Monday night.

The PGMOL has not commented on whether Mason will be involved. He was not selected earlier this season in the round following another high-profile error he made, when he disallowed a goal for Newcastle in their home match against Crystal Palace on September 3.

VAR was originally introduced to the Premier League for the start of the 2019/20 season, with its initial remit to only be used for "clear and obvious errors" or "serious missed incidents".

Howard Webb’s impact since his return to the English game at the end of last year, after a stint managing referees in the United States, has largely been well received.

He presented to clubs at Friday’s Premier League shareholders’ meeting and has raised the bar for VAR intervention on subjective decisions so that only clear and obvious errors are now being reviewed.

John Brooks has been dropped as the VAR for two games following his error in Saturday's match between Crystal Palace and Brighton. Credit: PA

Webb sees the purpose of Tuesday’s meeting as being to identify the issues from the weekend, reflect on them, review them and move forward.

He is keen to ensure officials have the correct support and coaching, and VARs already have dedicated assistance from former rugby league referee Phil Bentham.

Keith Hackett, a former referee and former PGMOL general manager, has called for Mason to be sacked.

He described Mason as a "serial offender" in his column for the Daily Telegraph and added: "Lee would be towards the bottom in the list of best performers. He has seemingly passed the point of requiring operational assistance - he does not have a place any more."

Neither Mason or Brooks have made any comment since officiating their respective weekend fixtures.

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