Brixham and Bridgwater ordered to replay FA Cup tie after ‘refereeing error’

Brixham and Bridgwater United have been ordered to replay their FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round tie after ‘refereeing error’.

Bridgwater of the Western League Premier Division knocked out South West Peninsula League Premier Division East outfit Brixham 2-1 in the fixture at Wall Park on the 7th of August.

However, in a surprise twist following the game, the tie is forced to be played again on Tuesday the 17th of August, at Bridgwater’s ground.

An FA spokesperson said the decision was taken because of ‘an extraordinary incident in relation to the application of the laws of the game and competition rules.’

It’s understood that a complaint came from the Bridgwater United management after the match referee incorrectly sent a player to the sin bin, yes, we now have sin bins in football.

Ten-minute temporary dismissals, also known as ‘sin bins’, were introduced to grassroots level in 2019 – but the law does not apply in the FA Cup.

In the 81st minute of the match, the referee showed a second yellow card to Jack Taylor, and instead of being sent off, the referee sin-binned him, meaning he had to sit out for 10 minutes.

However, this rule is non existent for the FA Cup competition, and Bridgwater’s coaching staff made that very clear during the incident, yet the referee insisted he made the right decision.

Bridgwater already had a red card in the game, so the decision to sin bin the player instead of a normal red card seemed strange to all watching on.

Strange news in the West Country football world. @BrixhamAFC and @BridgwaterUtd told to replay their FA Cup match due to a problem with a refereeing decision. This is the moment the ref sin-binned a Bridgwater player…sin-bin rule shouldn’t apply in the cup. pic.twitter.com/RApLYvmtpR

— Sam Blackledge (@samblackledge) August 12, 2021

Brixham’s joint head coach, Tim Porter, said it was ‘unexpected but welcome news’.

CEO of Bridgwater United, Adam Murry, said the whole situation is bizarre and the club is disappointed.

“The referee lost the game before this incident. When it happened our staff told him it wasn’t applicable in the FA Cup,” Murry said.

“It’s a shambles.”

Bridgwater felt they had won the game fairly, adding: “We are waiting now to hear back on a few things. If it is the final decision, if we do replay the game, is the red card suspension upheld? And just some more feedback really.”

Fans reacted as Brixham and Bridgwater are ordered to replay their FA Cup tie after the ‘refereeing error’…

@JammerGT: @jodybevs78 a Ref getting it wrong 🤫🤪

@StiltonBargains: Yes the ref made a mistake, but if the players kept their mouths shut he wouldn’t have done.

@radical_referee: A gobby player realising a Refs not going to tolerate their nonsense. 🤫😜😜😜😜

@Thelogicalrefe1: Shall we add up how often players / managers get it wrong V referees? See who wins. Oh what a great game!

@theboygibbo: Can’t defend this. Yes managers and players get things wrong ALL the time as they are doing things that are open to interpretation. A referee is there to ensure the written directives of the game are abided by and in the case when a ref doesn’t know the rules – it’s shocking

@Toroloco13: Refs are paid to know the rules .. that’s the difference!

@Grisleyreg: The one thing you expect is from the referee to know is the rules, it’s not interpretation its basic rules.

@ShaunVincent85: The man single handedly ruins matches

@davidwi03103618: Need to understand the rules of a competition when you officiate the cup game 👍 seen some comments about the referee need to shake your head if your having a go at him for doing his job 🤦‍♂️

@bmmtweet: Another ref not up to speed with the rules 🙈

@darlobluebird: @CardiffReferees always be aware of competition rules before officiating

@j_lucas88: My shock that ref decision has fucked a match up.. happens far to often

@refsupportuk: Football can learn from this. The point here is that the FA do not mention the “sin bin” in the FA Cup Competition rules. Sin bins were mentioned in the past but not this year. The FA Cup has teams and refs that operate in leagues were the Sin Bin apply. Feel for the Ref here.

@wafuref: We had the exact discussion on Saturday about sin bins prior to the game. A quick search through competition rules had no reference to them leading to doubt. Fortunately not required but clarity probably needed.

@fin_father: I do feel for him, we all make mistakes and it’s a shame that his is exposed like this. Interesting that all three officials weren’t aware

@DillonGascoigne: Matt is a great guy and a great referee. He’s made an error which I’m sure has been on his mind since and will be for a long time. With the right support, he’ll bounce back and I’m looking forward to working with him this weekend!

@andrewp538: As a ref always make sure you know the competition rules. Bit of re-education required here, perhaps for his assistant too as he had an opportunity to get the ref to correct his mistake.

@why_ref: Must do better. Always check the competition rules. Lack of prep here. Hopefully, he learns from this mistake. Worried that none of the officials picked this up.

@tswlfans: Absolutely mess. Costs involved. A club now loses a game next Tuesday because of it. Madness