Lee Mason decision pending as Howard Webb takes action after VAR blunders for Brighton and Arsenal

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 Brighton had a goal by Pervis Estupinan ruled out for offside because the lines were drawn from the wrong Crystal Palace player.

It is understood Webb called the meeting of all top-flight officials at Stockley Park in response to the incidents at the weekend.

After the blunder at Palace, Brighton issued a statement: “As was confirmed to the club by PGMOL last night, a serious error was made in disallowing Pervis Estupinan’s goal at Crystal Palace yesterday afternoon. The lines drawn in the VAR room to determine whether Pervis was in an offside position were drawn incorrectly, and the goal should have stood. While hugely disappointed by the error, the club has accepted PGMOL’s apology and will not be making any further comment.”

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.

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.

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.

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.