Brentford’s Equalizer in Arsenal Draw Under VAR Scrutiny for Possible Offside Error

The recent equalizing goal by Brentford in their match against Arsenal was not thoroughly examined by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) panel, as per the Press Association news agency.

During the match, Arsenal appeared to be on their way to a win, but Brentford’s equalizer by Toney was later questioned.

The VAR team, led by Lee Mason, had investigated and cleared a potential block by Ethan Pinnock, who was in an offside position, but did not fully examine whether Christian Norgaard, who was also in an apparent offside position, was offside before he crossed the ball for Toney’s goal.

🗣️ “Lee Mason actually not doing what he’s employed to do, that’s actual factual information. He was supposed to check and he didn’t because he was busy checking something else and forgot. That just can’t happen.”@VickyGomersall on the offside Brentford goal against Arsenal. pic.twitter.com/8c8svb1UuQ

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 12, 2023

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the organization responsible for referees, has been approached for comment and clarity by Sky Sports News.

Mason was previously removed from VAR duties for a round of Premier League fixtures in September due to an error in a Newcastle vs Crystal Palace match. It will be announced on Tuesday if he faces similar consequences for next weekend’s games. The Daily Mail reported that Mason “forgot” to draw the offside lines for Brentford’s equalizer, and a PGMOL representative stated that the lack of lines was a human error. If the lines had been drawn, the goal would have been disallowed for offside.