FA Cup qualifying match to be replayed after referee error

An FA Cup qualifying match will be replayed after a refereeing mistake led to a team in the ninth tier of English football lodging a complaint.

Woodford Town, who play in the Essex Senior Football League, lost 2-1 to fellow non-league side Mulbarton Wanderers last weekend.

Thirty minutes into the first half, Woodford were granted a penalty, which striker Ollie Sotoyinbo scored to put his side ahead.

However, the referee disallowed the goal because of encroachment on the opposition goal by Woodford players. The match official then awarded an indirect free kick to Mulbarton.

Law 14 of the FA Cup rules stated that the referee should have ordered the penalty to be retaken.

After lodging a complaint to the Football Association over the incident, the match will now be replayed entirely, as an FA sub-committee ruled "the original fixture was not completed in accordance" with competition laws.

The rematch will take place on 29 September at Mulbarton's Abode Arena and will be decided on the night, with extra time and penalties to be used if necessary.

In a statement, Woodford Town said the club "would like to thank the FA for its thorough consideration of the matter, and for reaching a decision that ensures the tie can be concluded in accordance with FA Cup rules".

Mulbarton Wanderers said it was "deeply upset and disappointed by this decision" and "the impact that it will have upon our football club".

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The Norfolk club - which plays in the Isthmian League North Division, effectively the eighth tier of English football - also raised concerns about "the potential wider implications regarding the finality of results for any FA Cup match in the future played by any team and the integrity of the game as a whole".

It also said in its statement Friday that the FA had originally determined the protest was not allowed, but that Woodford further appealed and prevailed with a rules sub-committee.

Has this happened before?

It's extremely rare for matches to be replayed over referee errors. While Premier League games are sometimes marred by mistakes, fans and managers are often left frustrated as results do not change.

It's not unprecedented, though: A league game between Edgware Town and Harefield United in 2006 - thought to be the first in English football to be ordered to be replayed because of an error - was held again after a penalty was disallowed when it should have been retaken.

And last year, an FA Vase first-round game between Wythenshawe and Holker Old Boys was ordered to be replayed after a referee error in a penalty shootout.

(c) Sky News 2026: FA Cup qualifying match to be replayed after referee error