ODD: Ref;s Blunder Forces Game To Resume five Days After

FOR the first time in its history, European football’s governing body responded to a team’s protests by unexpectedly ordering part of a match to be replayed because of a referee’s error.

Five days after the original game, the under-19s women’s teams of England and Norway suited and booted and played the final 10 seconds again on Thursday — starting by retaking the penalty kick that prompted the controversy.
England’s Leah Williamson sent the spotkick into the bottom left of the Norwegian goal to make it 2-2. And the game had barely kicked off again when the referee blew the final whistle, and both England and Norway celebrated qualifying for the U19s European Championship.
England had similarly scored its penalty on Saturday in Belfast in the sixth minute of injury time but it was disallowed when an England player encroached the area. However, German referee Marija Kurtes then wrongly awarded a free kick to Norway instead of retaking the penalty.

England captain Leah Williamson converts the penalty.

The English Football Association protested, and was surprised by UEFA’s response: Replay the final moments again from the spotkick.UEFA regulations uphold protests in cases of “an obvious violation of a rule by the referee that had a decisive influence on the final result of the match.”
“I have experienced every single emotion over the past 24 hours,” Williamson told Sky Sports.
“But it wasn’t really about me. It was about the team and I have never felt calmer than when the referee blew that whistle.”
Originally published as Five day wait to take a penalty