Lee Mason
Encyclopedia
Lee S. Mason is an English
professional football referee from Bolton
, Lancashire
, who officiates primarily in the Premier League. He is chairman of the Bolton Referees Society and still lives locally. His younger brother Andy
is a former professional footballer who played for Bolton Wanderers
, among others.
between 1990 and 1993, living in Newman Hall, where he gained his degree. Whilst there he played for his college football team as well as being a regular compere, hosting a variety of social events at students' union
club The Derwent.
assistant referees' list, and progressed to referee in that league four years later. He was included on the Football League
list of assistant referees in 1998, and was added to the Premier League assistant referees list in 2000.
In 2002, he was promoted to referee in the Football League, and his first match at that level was a Division 3
match at Gay Meadow
between Shrewsbury
and Exeter
on 10 August, won 1–0 by the home side.
Also in 2002, he took charge of that year's FA County Youth Cup
final between Birmingham and Durham, which Birmingham won 2–1.
Mason became a Development Group referee in 2003, and finally reached the Premier League list of Select Group referees in 2006. His first match as referee in that league came on 4 February 2006, when Middlesbrough
lost 4–0 at home to Aston Villa
.
Later in 2006 he was appointed to referee the League 1
play-off
final between Barnsley
and Swansea at Cardiff
's Millennium Stadium
on 27 May, which Barnsley won on penalties after a 2–2 scoreline following extra time
.
In 2009 Mason refereed the FA Youth Cup final between Arsenal
and Liverpool. Later that year Mason suffered a one-week demotion to the role of fourth official after his refereeing of a match between Fulham
and Liverpool
in which he sent off Liverpool players Jamie Carragher
and Philipp Degen
; Fulham ultimately won the fixture 3–1.
Mason and his assistant referees came under criticism from Manchester United
management in December 2010 for allowing a last-minute equaliser scored by Birmingham City
to stand. A Birmingham cross into United's penalty area appeared to hit Nikola Žigić
's arm and Lee Bowyer
slid the ball home despite appearing to be offside. Birmingham manager Alex McLeish
defended the decision, saying Bowyer was not offside and that Mason would have been "harsh if he had penalized [Žigić] for deliberate handball."
Statistics are for all competitions. No records are available prior to 2002/03.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
professional football referee from Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, who officiates primarily in the Premier League. He is chairman of the Bolton Referees Society and still lives locally. His younger brother Andy
Andy Mason
Andrew Paul Mason in Bolton, England, is a retired English professional footballer who played as a forward for various teams in the Football League.His older brother Lee is currently a Premier League referee.-External links:...
is a former professional footballer who played for Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
, among others.
Education
Mason attended the Liverpool Institute of Higher EducationLiverpool Hope University
Liverpool Hope University is a university in Liverpool, England. Two of its three founding colleges were established in 1844 and 1856, the third opening in the 1960s. It is the only ecumenical university in Europe. Based on two campuses, the main campus is located in Childwall and the second...
between 1990 and 1993, living in Newman Hall, where he gained his degree. Whilst there he played for his college football team as well as being a regular compere, hosting a variety of social events at students' union
Students' union
A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...
club The Derwent.
Career
Mason took up the whistle in 1988, officiating in the Bolton Boys Federation League. In 1992 he was added to the North West Counties Football LeagueNorth West Counties Football League
The North West Counties Football League is a football league in North west of England. As of 2011, the league covers Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Southern Cumbria, Northern Staffordshire, the High Peak area of Derbyshire, and the far west of West Yorkshire. In the past, the...
assistant referees' list, and progressed to referee in that league four years later. He was included on the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
list of assistant referees in 1998, and was added to the Premier League assistant referees list in 2000.
In 2002, he was promoted to referee in the Football League, and his first match at that level was a Division 3
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
match at Gay Meadow
Gay Meadow
The Gay Meadow is the former home ground of Shrewsbury Town FC, a football club in England. It was situated just outside the town centre of Shrewsbury, on the banks of the River Severn and it opened in August 1910....
between Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury Town F.C.
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is an English Association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1886 and has played in all the bottom three divisions in various guises since being elected into the Football...
and Exeter
Exeter City F.C.
Exeter City Football Club is an English football club, based in Exeter, which is owned by its fans through the Exeter City Supporters Trust.The club was a member of the Football League from 1920 to 2003...
on 10 August, won 1–0 by the home side.
Also in 2002, he took charge of that year's FA County Youth Cup
FA County Youth Cup
The FA County Youth Cup is a football competition run by The Football Association in England. It was launched in the 1944-45 season to provide young players who had not yet signed with a professional club, even on a scholarship basis, with competitive representative football...
final between Birmingham and Durham, which Birmingham won 2–1.
Mason became a Development Group referee in 2003, and finally reached the Premier League list of Select Group referees in 2006. His first match as referee in that league came on 4 February 2006, when Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
lost 4–0 at home to Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
.
Later in 2006 he was appointed to referee the League 1
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
play-off
Football League Play-Offs
The Football League play-offs are an annual series of football matches to determine some of the promotion places within the Football League. Essentially, each division of the league offers a certain number of automatic promotion places to the top two or three clubs. A further promotion place is...
final between Barnsley
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
and Swansea at Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
's Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
on 27 May, which Barnsley won on penalties after a 2–2 scoreline following extra time
Overtime (sports)
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw. In most sports, this extra period is only played if the game is required to have a clear winner, as in single-elimination...
.
In 2009 Mason refereed the FA Youth Cup final between Arsenal
Arsenal F.C. Reserves
Arsenal Reserves are the reserve team of Arsenal Football Club.They have been members of the FA Premier Reserve League Southern Division since its foundation in 1999. They play their home games at Underhill Stadium, which is also the home of Barnet FC. The team mainly consists of Under-21 players...
and Liverpool. Later that year Mason suffered a one-week demotion to the role of fourth official after his refereeing of a match between Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
and Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
in which he sent off Liverpool players Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher
James Lee Duncan "Jamie" Carragher is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League side Liverpool...
and Philipp Degen
Philipp Degen
Philipp Degen is a Swiss footballer. Degen is usually a right back but can also play at left back or on the right wing...
; Fulham ultimately won the fixture 3–1.
Mason and his assistant referees came under criticism from Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
management in December 2010 for allowing a last-minute equaliser scored by Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
to stand. A Birmingham cross into United's penalty area appeared to hit Nikola Žigić
Nikola Žigic
Nikola Žigić is a Serbian footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City as a centre forward.At , Žigić is among the tallest professional players in the world...
's arm and Lee Bowyer
Lee Bowyer
Lee David Bowyer is an English professional footballer born in Canning Town, London, who plays as a midfielder for Ipswich Town of the Football League Championship....
slid the ball home despite appearing to be offside. Birmingham manager Alex McLeish
Alex McLeish
Alexander "Alex" McLeish , is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager, who is currently managing English Premier League club Aston Villa...
defended the decision, saying Bowyer was not offside and that Mason would have been "harsh if he had penalized [Žigić] for deliberate handball."
Card statistics
| Season | Games | Total | per game | Total | per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 24 | 94 | 3.92 | 3 | 0.13 |
| 2003–04 | 30 | 118 | 3.93 | 6 | 0.20 |
| 2004–05 | 36 | 108 | 3.00 | 3 | 0.08 |
| 2005–06 | 37 | 90 | 2.43 | 3 | 0.08 |
| 2006–07 | 33 | 87 | 2.64 | 3 | 0.09 |
| 2007–08 | 30 | 110 | 3.66 | 4 | 0.13 |
| 2008–09 2008–09 in English football The 2008–09 season was the 129th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Hull City were all playing in the Premier League after winning promotion from the Championship last season. Stoke returned to the top flight after a 23-year absence, while... |
34 | 132 | 3.88 | 8 | 0.23 |
| 2009–10 2009–10 in English football The 2009–10 season was the 130th season of competitive football in England.The season began on 8 August 2009 for the Championship, League One and League Two and 15 August 2009 for the Premier League... |
35 | 106 | 3.09 | 7 | 0.20 |
| 2010–11 2010–11 in English football The 2010–11 season was the 131st season of competitive football in England.The season began on 6 August 2010 for the Football Leagues, with the Premier League and Football Conference both starting eight days later on 14 August 2010. The Championship, League One, and League Two ended on 7 May... |
33 | 135 | 4.09 | 5 | 0.15 |
| 2011–12 2011–12 in English football The 2011–12 season is the 132nd season of competitive football in England.The season began on 5 August 2011 for the Football Leagues, with the Premier starting eight days later, League Football Conference Starting one day before Premier League starts.The Championship, League One, and League Two... |
Statistics are for all competitions. No records are available prior to 2002/03.
External links
- Lee Mason Profile at Refworld.com
- Lee Mason Referee Statistics at soccerbase.com
- Profile on RateTheRef.net