COULD BENFICA v MAN UTD GAME HAVE BEEN REPLAYED?
In the past, there have been examples of games which have been replayed when the referee has been found to have applied the Laws of the Game incorrectly. It is the referee’s duty to “Enforce the Laws of the Game” (Law 5). Some sections of the Laws allow for the ‘opinion of the referee’ and this cannot be questioned. Other sections are specific requirements which the referee has to enforce. If the referee has not enforced that section of the Law then there is a case for an appeal to have the game replayed. The most recent case was the 1st leg of the FIFA World Cup play off on Saturday, 3rd September, Uzbekistan v Bahrain (1-0). The referee, Toshimitsu YOSHIDA (Japan), erred after Server Djeparov scored a penalty kick for Uzbekistan in the first half. A team mate had encroached before the kick was taken and the referee incorrectly awarded an indirect free kick to Bahrain from the edge of the penalty area where the team mate had encroached. By Law, the referee must have the penalty kick r
