After Everton took the lead yesterday, there were cries from the stands of ‘1-0 to the referee’.
Could Newcastle have defended the opener better? Absolutely. But the situation that led to the goal never should have happened.
The free-kick that led to the goal was questionable, with Miguel Almiron and Leighton Baines challenging for the ball in the air. The Everton man won it, and was rewarded with a soft free-kick.
And before the free kick was given, Everton got a corner that clearly came shouldn’t have been given. The ball went out off an Everton head, yet somehow Mason inexplicably awarded them another set piece that led to the free-kick being given. It was a series of mistakes from the referee that pegged Newcastle back early on.
We also had penalty shouts for ‘fouls’ on Andy Carroll and Almiron that were ignored by Mason and then VAR.
While we didn’t do enough to win, we certainly didn’t deserve to lose either. And had there been a bit more consistency from the referee, things might have been different.
There were multiple errors from Mason, who seemed desperate to be the villain at St James’ Park. Maybe he felt sorry for all the grief Jordan Pickford was getting…
Lee Mason wasn’t a popular man at St James’ Park
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