Gerrard was looking for that penalty and Mason was right not to give it.
The thing is, whilst you personally may have your own take on that particular incident, whether he was right or wrong and whether it was or whether it wasn't a penalty is not particularly relevant to this thread.
What this thread is about concerns the fact that for some reason Lee Mason seems to find it beyond his capabilities/instincts to officiate fairly and equitably at a game involving LFC.
A scrutiny on LFCtv of the two games highlighted in the opening post - Man City away last season and the recent away game at Leicester - will illustrate this fact clearly and irrevocably to anybody who cares enough to watch a re-run of both those games with any sort of open yet analytical mind, concentrating particularly on the uneven handed approach of Mason to those sort of marginal challenges which are open to interpretation either way.
That is to say the following sort of interpretations. Whether there was actually any foul play involved in such marginal incidents? If so, was any such foul play just by one party or by both parties? Was clear foul play by one party allowed to go unpunished? Was fairly innocuous play that may have bordered upon foul play pulled up by the ref as foul play when corresponding play by the other sides' players went unpunished?
As the play unfolds in both games you will clearly see Mason's interpretations - with exceptions of course for we're not talking of a 100% watertight case of bias here - will for the most part favour Liverpool's opponents and not favour us.
In the opening post I've highlighted a few of these marginal incidents where they had a significant impact upon the game's outcome. However, it is the preponderance of relatively uneventful interpretations against Liverpool players - forinstance in the Leicester game Mason's almost dogged resolve to overlook what was happening to Sterling - which provide the evidence of a man who cannot help himself in favouring Liverpool's opponents.
So whilst competance is clearly an important quality for a referee to posses, the case of Lee Mason and Liverpool FC demonstrates clearly that the ultimate requirement for a referee is not competance but fairness. On this crucial aspect, Mason fails miserably when it comes to games involving LFC
Whatever the reasons and/or motivation for his attitude towards LFC the simple fact is he does not referee fairly and as such he should never again be allowed to come within a million miles of officiating in a Liverpool game. As it is I don't see it as an issue that encompasses any malice aforethought or such like. I just don't think the man can help himself. It's instinctive not pre-meditated. As for his competance or incompetance? Well they're all human and they're all going to make errors. they're all going to interpret incidents in their own way. Except for his clear bias where LFC are concerned I really don't see him that much different from most other officials. A bit chubbier and off the pace perhaps but then again I'm ancient enough to remember Roger Fitzpatrick.
