Strange as it may seem, referee Lee Mason did Albion several favours at The Hawthorns to judge by a reading of the early editions of the Sunday papers. Apart from awarding Graham Potter's side two penalties, his antics in disallowing what seemed a perfectly legitimate goal by skipper Lewis Dunk took all the headlines and overshadow the fact that Seagulls players missed both spot kicks.
Neil Moxley of The Mirror wrote that “Lee Mason's decision to disallow a quickly-taken free-kick sparked chaos during Brighton's 1-0 defeat at West Bromwich Albion, with the referee seemingly uncertain over the rules himself.
“Mason found himself under the spotlight again as a melee over a quickly-taken free-kick sparked chaos at the Hawthorns. The match official, whose ability has already been called into question this season, was at the centre of controversy after Seagulls' centre-half Lewis Dunk thought he had equalised in the relegation-tussle against West Brom.
“The Lancashire official initially ruled out the goal but then, after being surrounded by visiting players, awarded it.
“He then consulted the pitchside monitor with complaints from players and managers from both sides ringing in his ears before reversing it again and awarding a re-take. The four-minute delay only contributed to the confusion. Dunk was incensed by the decision, calling it 'horrendous' in the post-match de-brief.”
Jordan Davies took a similar line in The Sun on Sunday: “Referee Lee Mason disallowed Lewis Dunk's Brighton equaliser against West Brom, after changing his decision TWICE as the Baggies somehow beat Graham Potter's men.
“The confusion began when the Seagulls defender cheekily took a free-kick from 20 yards quickly, catching out Baggies goalkeeper Sam Johnstone. Dunk, 29, was convinced that Mason had blown the whistle for the kick to be taken, strongly arguing his case with the official.
“Unexpectedly, the Brighton skipper's protestations initially appeared to ring true, with Mason deciding to give the goal after all. It was then West Brom captain Kyle Bartley's turn to argue his case, with the Baggies insisting that the set-piece was taken too quickly.
“VAR eventually intervened, instructing Mason not to give the goal. Potter appeared bemused on the touchline, while even Sam Allardyce had his head in his hands.
“The final judgement was that Mason had blown the whistle twice, once before the kick indicating for play to be stopped. And a second time while the ball was in mid-air, meaning the free-kick had to be retaken.”
Rob Draper of The Mail gave more details about the protests to referee Mason. He wrote: “That is as anarchic as I've ever seen a Premier League referee decision. It looked as though, having initially disallowed the free kick, Lee Mason was swayed by the vociferous Brighton players into giving it.
“At which point, you could hear West Brom players call him expletives, which should be red card offences.
“But he took no action and took the abuse for no reason. For had he just waited for the VAR to check, it would have confirmed his first decision, to disallow, because the ball wasn't over the line when he blew his whistle.
“The question still remains; what potential offence did Mason see to blow up as Dunk's free kick was headed goalwards?”
The broadsheets were a little more restrained by not by much. Paul Rowan of the Sunday Times wrote that “One of the craziest games of the season so far ended with West Bromwich Albion earning a hard-fought win with an early Kyle Bartley goal, but the game will long be remembered for the madness at the other end of the pitch.
“Brighton & Hove Albion missed two penalties and were also the aggrieved party in the most controversial incident of the game, which had the referee Lee Mason at its centre. Brighton had the ball in the net in the 28th minute from a quickly taken free kick by Lewis Dunk, which was disallowed, then allowed under protest, before being disallowed again amid chaotic scenes at the Hawthorns.
“In their last three games, Brighton have had more than 60 shots, about 20 on target and only one goal. At least there was one winner on this crazy afternoon, but it was a day when the credibility of the officiating took another severe battering.”
Paul Doyle of The Observer called the match a “preposterous encounter” and described “scenes of rank farce.” He continued: “Brighton were already trailing to Bartley's close-range header when the match lapsed into absurdity just before the half hour, when Lewis Dunk thought he had struck an equaliser for Brighton, only for his supposed goal to be disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed again. The referee, Lee Mason, appeared to be as confused as the players during a three-minute period in which the teams took turns to argue their case with the official, who ultimately needed assistance from VAR to explain what he had done.
“Never seen that happen before but highlights the nonsensity of a law that stops the side who've been fouled gaining an advantage.’ argued Gary Lineker on Twitter. While the debate raged on social media and elsewhere, poor Mason looked in need of a good rest as he made his way off the pitch at half-time, with players and staff from both clubs still demanding clarification. For once it was probably a good thing that no fans were in attendance.
“If the officiating was of low quality, so too was much of the play. Brighton's weakness in defending set pieces was obvious from the start, with West Brom tormenting them from corners and long throw-ins. It was no surprise when Kyle Bartley rose unchallenged to guide a header in from a corner in the 11th minute. Brighton livened up a little after that but then their familiar finishing problems came to the fore. Gross' penalty miss was the most glaring but they were guilty of further sloppiness, particularly during the four minutes of stoppage time added on to the end of the first half to compensate for the time spent solving the mystery of Dunk's disallowed goal.”
“Brighton continued their patient, pretty buildups in the second half but their impotence in front of goal persisted. West Brom could barely believe their luck.”
John Aizlewood of the Sunday Telegraph thought that “after this extraordinary encounter [West Brom] may have used up their good fortune for the season. Kyle Bartley's early goal won it, but Brighton & Hove Albion missed two penalties, missed a fistful of clear opportunities and had a goal disallowed, allowed and then disallowed once more. To paraphrase Michael Corleone in Godfather III, just when Brighton thought they were out of the relegation struggle, it keeps pulling them back in.
“And so after six unbeaten league games, successive defeats have banished all thoughts of the season ending in leisurely comfort. 'A sore afternoon, but we've only got ourselves to blame,' sighed Graham Potter, the Brighton head coach.
“Once the farce concluded, there was still a game to be played. Brighton would turn down one more golden ticket in the 76th minute when Gross burst into the penalty area and was upended by Conor Townsend.
“This time Danny Welbeck stepped up. He smashed the ball against the post and the game was correctly stopped when Welbeck touched the ball a second and Brighton had conspired against themselves as much as the gods.”