Southampton are to request that neither Lee Mason now Mike Dean referee their future games, after multiple controversies in their last two matches.

It comes after multiple controversies in their last two matches, where they were beaten by 1-0 by Aston Villa and 9-0 by Manchester United.

In the meeting with Aston Villa - which was refereed by Lee Mason - the Saints had a strong appeal for a penalty turned down in the opening half when the ball struck the arm of Villa's Matty Cash in the penalty area. Despite consulting with VAR, it was ruled an accidental handball and no penalty was given. The Saints were also denied a late equaliser when Danny Ings was judged to have been fractionally offside.

Mike Dean then found himself busy last night when Man United thrashed Southampton, with Ralph Hassenhuttl's side receiving two red cards, conceding a penalty and having a goal disallowed.

Similarly to Danny Ings's offside decision, Che Adams saw a goal chalked off early in the second half for the narrowest of offside margins, which if allowed would have made the score 4-1.

1 - During the 9-0 defeat to Manchester United last night, Jan Bednarek became the first player in Premier League history to be sent off, give away a penalty and score an own goal in a single match. Hat-Trick.

More stats like this from the action last night, below 👇

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 3, 2021

And while there was no debating the Saints opening red card in the first minute of the game following Alexandre Jankewitz’s horrendous tackle on Scott McTominay, the second red card in the closing stages proved to be widely debated. Jan Bednarek was sent off late on for bringing down Anthony Martial in the box, following another lengthy VAR consultation.

Speaking after the game, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said it was a harsh decision to red card Bednarek.

"The second sending off for them, that rule should be taken away. The law that sends him off is a strange one. Bednarek definitely shouldn’t have been sent off."

The Mail are reporting that Southampton will request a meeting with the PGMOL to discuss the situation, but have asked not to be refereed by Mason and Dean in future, as they feel the controversies would make it difficult for the pair to take charge of their matches.

Last night's result made it four defeats in a row for Southampton, who have fallen into the bottom half of the table.