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Brighton captain Lewis Dunk called on referee Lee Mason to face up to the press and explain his ‘horrendous’ decision to rule out his goal against West Brom.
After Kyle Bartley’s early opener in the crucial Premier League basement battle, Dunk thought he had levelled for the Seagulls in the first half when he netted a quickly-taken free-kick.
But it sparked bizarre scenes, as Mason disallowed it, then changed his mind and gave it – only for VAR to intervene and the goal finally ruled out after all.
Brighton went on to lose the match 1-0, as they squandered two penalty kicks – with Pascal Gross and Danny Welbeck both hitting the woodwork.
But all the talk after the match was centred on Mason, with Dunk raging at the decision to chalk his goal off and questioning why the official wasn’t made to explain his actions.
“It’s embarrassing, it’s a horrendous decision,” said Dunk.
“I said to the referee, ‘can I take it?’ He blew his whistle and I took it.
“Why doesn’t he come and speak to the press like me? Never, they hide behind their bubble.
“I don’t think he knew what he was doing. He gave the goal. Why did he give it? I don’t know why VAR was getting involved.”
Asked if Mason lost control of the game, Dunk replied: “Yeah he did. Fact.”
Brighton boss Graham Potter remained calm but insisted he had little idea why the goal was disallowed.
He added: “I’m still not clear what the second whistle was for. I asked why he was OK to blow in the first place to allow the quick one. It’s frustrating.
“As far as I know Lewis Dunk asked to take the free-kick quickly and the referee said yes. In between that, there was another whistle. I don’t know what that whistle was for.
“The confusion is on the pitch and it gets worse when someone outside this area is making the decisions.”
West Brom boss Sam Allardyce, meanwhile, was relieved to be on the right end of the controversial call.
Allardyce said: “It’s a huge slice of luck in our favour. You need a bit of luck in life if you are going to succeed.
“I feel the referee has far too many rules and regulations to adhere to. That causes confusion. I don’t think the referees are allowed to go out with a clear mind.
“The natural way to play football or referee a game is with a clear mind and I don’t think referees today are allowed to have a clear mind to just referee how they feel.
“Not this ever-extending number of rules they keep changing and adding on.”
The Premier League later moved to explain Mason’s decision to rule out the goal.
A statement read: “The referee blows the whistle, sees the keeper isn’t ready, quickly blows it again… and because the ball hadn’t crossed the line when he blew that second whistle, VAR can intervene… he tells the referee that it hadn’t gone in, and so they restarted with the free kick being retaken.”
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