Arsenal have been on the wrong side of a number of officiating decisions throughout the season so far as they continue their Premier League title challenge. The draw against Brentford at the weekend left Mikel Arteta, his players and Gunners fans in a fume after VAR official Lee Mason forgot to check Christian Norgaard’s position in the build-up to Ivan Toney’s equaliser that should not have stood.
It was just one of many controversial VAR errors made by officials in the Premier League over the weekend after Chelsea saw a penalty not given despite a seemingly blatant handball from Tomas Soucek. Brighton were another team to be unfortunate as they missed out on a goal with Pervis Estupinan being deemed to be offside, despite VAR official John Brooks applying the offside lines to the wrong Crystal Palace defender.
Brooks was due to take to be on VAR duties for the huge title clash between Arsenal and Manchester City and tonight’s Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton before being removed from both of the games following his error at the weekend. The decisions that have gone against Arsenal could prove costly in the title race with City now just three points behind the Gunners, having the chance to move above them in the table on goal difference if they win at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has explained why Mason took 'three minutes' and still came to the wrong decision for Brentford's equaliser. Gallagher told Sky Sports: "If the referee thinks he's had a materialistic impact on the player, yes [they can be offside].
"When the free kick comes over, Ethan Pinnock - who starts in an offside position - that's all he is. He can't be given as offside at that point because he hasn't impacted on the outcome of that ball.
"The VAR, Lee Mason, made two checks and they were very comprehensive - it took three minutes. He has deemed Pinnock is in an offside position - there's no doubt about that.
"He's decided because the ball is so high, he cannot head the ball so he's not interfering with play because he's not touched it. Does he impact on a defender?
"I think the VAR looks at it and he's behind it, so it's difficult. He judges it as not a foul, which is a subjective element.
"He's concentrated on that so much that I think he switches off then. He's forgotten to complete it through.
"It's not panic, but it's 'I've taken three minutes and haven't found an offence, people are going to wonder why I've checked it so often'. He then doesn't check the Norgaard offside, and that's where the problem occurred.
"It's a human error bought on by the fact that time is eating away and three minutes are an eternity to a spectator. You can hear them, and that's got to play on his mind, he's just closed it off a bit too early."
Mikel Arteta rightfully criticised the decision-making after the game and may take some comfort in the retrospective action taken by the PGMOL by removing Brooks for their clash against City. Brooks has been replaced by David Coote and Andre Marriner who will both be in place at Stockley Park to assess all the officiating decisions for the big title decider this week.
