An FA Cup match between Mulbarton Wanderers and Woodford Town is being replayed after a referee made a mistake regarding a disallowed goal. During the game, the referee ruled out a penalty goal scored by Woodford Town, citing that attacking players had encroached on the goal area. Instead of retaking the penalty, the referee awarded Mulbarton an indirect free-kick. A sub-committee from the Football Association later found a technical error in the referee's decision and ordered the match to be replayed. Woodford Town protested, arguing that the referee should have ordered the penalty to be retaken instead of awarding the free-kick, as the laws of the game suggest. The incident has sparked discussions about whether such errors could lead to more replays in leagues that use video assistant referee (VAR) technology. In the 2023-24 season, a VAR-related error was acknowledged after Manchester United lost to Manchester City at home. However, the International Football Association Board, which governs the laws of football, has clarified that mistakes involving VAR do not invalidate a match result. This is not the first time such an issue has arisen in English football. A similar situation occurred in 2006 in the Spartan South Midlands League, where a referee's error led to a replay between Edgware Town and Harefield United. Another instance happened in an FA Vase tie last season, and Bridlington Town had to replay a 2-1 FA Cup win against Knaresborough due to a refereeing error regarding a substitute. In the case of Mulbarton and Woodford, the rules regarding encroachment have been updated in recent years to require a clear impact on an opponent. There was little evidence of an offence by Woodford, and the only possible violation would have been if the encroaching attackers had distracted the goalkeeper. Even if disallowing the goal was justified, the restart should have been a retake of the penalty, not an indirect free-kick. The replay between Mulbarton Wanderers and Woodford Town will be held on Tuesday. The winners will host Gloucester City in the third qualifying round on 3 October. While the debate continues on whether such errors could lead to replays in leagues using VAR, the International Football Association Board has stated that matches are not invalidated by wrong decisions involving VAR.