FA Cup second qualifying tie between Mulbarton and Woodford to be replayed after referee error
Mulbarton Wanderers’ 2-1 victory over Woodford Town in the FA Cup second qualifying round at the Essex Senior League side on Saturday has been ordered to be replayed after the Football Association found a referee made a technical error.
This season’s FA Cup competition began on Friday, 7 August. Mulbarton, who play in the Isthmian League North, defeated Woodford 2-1 in the second qualifying round but Woodford lodged a protest with the FA following a decision in the 30th minute of the match.
In the 30th minute Woodford scored from a penalty, but the referee disallowed the goal for encroachment by a number of Woodford players and awarded Mulbarton an indirect free-kick. Law 14 in the laws of the game, external, states that the referee should have ordered the penalty to be retaken.
The FA initially told clubs that a protest for misapplication of the rules was not permissible. The case was subsequently examined by an FA sub-committee, which concluded there had been a technical error by the referee and instructed that the match be replayed.
The replay will be hosted by Mulbarton on Tuesday, 29 September, with the tie to be decided on the night. Mulbarton described the ruling as "final and binding and there is no right of appeal" and, as an eighth-tier side from Norfolk, said: "The club is deeply upset and disappointed by this decision, the impact that it will have upon our football club, and 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."
Redbridge-based Woodford, who play in the ninth tier, issued a statement reading: "Woodford Town FC 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." The winners of the replay will host Gloucester City of the Southern League Premier Division South in the third qualifying round on Saturday, 3 October.
Gloucester City, described in FA material as a seventh-tier side that initially thought they would be visiting Mulbarton, commented: "We understand that this situation will be frustrating and disappointing for our supporters, particularly those who have already made plans around the scheduled fixture. We share that frustration." They added: "We thank all of our supporters for their patience and understanding while the situation is resolved."
A non-league fixture in 2006 is thought to be the first occasion in English football when a match was ordered to be replayed because of a referee's error, in that instance also involving a successful penalty that should have been retaken. An FA Vase tie was also replayed last season after a referee's error over a penalty shootout.
The confirmed next step is that Mulbarton will host the replay on Tuesday, 29 September with the tie to be decided on the night; the winner will then host Gloucester City in the third qualifying round on Saturday, 3 October.
