Officiating errors in football are commonplace but when it touches on the integrity of the game, it becomes a major concern.
For instance, an officiating decision to award a freekick to an offending team that has fouled an opponent in their own box instead of a penalty to the offended team is so grave a mistake to be ignored.
Also, a disallowed goal could also raise eyebrows among fans on the integrity of game. Hence, football administrators have taken pragmatic steps to order replays in cases where errors become to glaring and serious to ignore.
Here are some football matches that were replayed due to officiating errors:
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – In March 2022, FIFA ordered a replay of the World Cup qualifier between Uzbekistan and Bahrain after the referee made a serious error by awarding a free kick to Bahrain instead of a penalty to Uzbekistan.
2006 Spartan South Midlands League – In 2006, Edgware Town’s match against Harefield United was replayed after the referee disallowed a winning goal from Edgware due to an infringement, even though the player should have simply been booked and the penalty awarded.
1999 FA Cup – In 1999, the FA Cup semi-final match between Arsenal and Sheffield United was replayed after the original match was abandoned due to crowd trouble. The replay was played at Villa Park, with Arsenal winning 2-1.
These are just a few examples of football matches that have been replayed due to officiating errors. It is a very rare occurrence, but it can happen if the error is serious enough to affect the outcome of the match.
In addition to the above, there have been a few other instances of football matches being replayed due to officiating errors, but these have typically been in lower-league or non-league competitions.
It is important to note that there is no single governing body that oversees the replaying of football matches due to officiating errors. The decision of whether or not to replay a match is ultimately up to the competition organizer.
