Having been appointed as an assistant referee in the Premier League from 2000 to 2002, Lee Mason was given the opportunity to referee in the top-flight four years later, and he has maintained his position as a Select Group referee ever since.
Mason officiated in the North West Counties League for eight years before getting on to the Football League ladder for the first time.
A couple of years as an assistant in the Football League were followed by a further two seasons in the same role for Premier League fixtures.
Mason was appointed as a Football League referee in 2002 and took charge of the 2006 League 1 Play-off Final between Barnsley and Swansea City before making the step up to the Premier League in the same year.
The Lancashire FA official refereed the 2009 FA Youth Cup Final between Arsenal and Liverpool, while later that year Mason was appointed fourth official for the FA Community Shield between Chelsea and Manchester United.
Mason was in the same role for the 2010 League Cup Final and Championship Play-off Final in 2011, with the Bolton-born official making the step into European domestic competitions as an additional assistant referee in the same year.
The Championship Play-off Final beckoned for Mason again in 2014, but this time he was the referee for the match between Queens Park Rangers and Derby County.