Riverhounds game to be partially replayed due to officiating error

In a stunning turn of events, the USL Championship admitted an “egregious” officiating error and ruled that last Saturday’s match between the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and Miami FC will be replayed from the 67th minute on with the Riverhounds holding a 1-0 lead.

The game, which originally ended in a 0-0 draw, will resume at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Miami.

On the play in question, Miami’s Devon “Speedy” Williams took a free kick about 35 yards from his own net, playing the ball to defender Janos Lobe, who nonchalantly passed back toward goalkeeper Connor Sparrow. The Miami netminder wasn’t prepared for the back pass, however, and the ball slid by his outstretched right foot and inside the post for what looked to be an embarrassing own goal.

After a long discussion, referee Jonathan Bilinski awarded the Riverhounds a corner kick, which would have been the correct call if Miami had inadvertently sent the free kick directly into its own net without anyone playing it first.

The USL, Professional Referees Organization and International Football Association Board conducted an investigation of the play and ruled that “an egregious error and misapplication of the FIFA Laws of the Game occurred.”

The investigation found no evidence of “match fixing or impropriety.”

So here’s the goal that wasn’t, offered without commentary.#UNLEASH #MIAvPIT pic.twitter.com/3BTJbpJ3tv

— x - Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) October 17, 2021

“In this instance, the match officials applied a law that unequivocally did not match the events on the field, and the ruling on the field exceeded the reasonable degree of human error that is inherently part of the game,” USL President Jake Edwards said in a statement.

“This extraordinarily rare circumstance necessitated the decision to ask two of our Clubs to replay the remainder of a match with the score at 1-0. With support from PRO and IFAB, we have taken this action to protect the integrity of the League, our competition, and the sport of soccer. We thank The Miami FC and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC for their understanding and commitment to the integrity of our competition.”

The Riverhounds issued a statement expressing their satisfaction with the ruling.

“As a club, the Riverhounds fully agree with the league’s decision,” the statement read. “Based on past precedent set by FIFA and its member federations when there has been a clear misapplication of the Laws of the Game, we believe a replay is the fairest outcome for both our team and Miami FC, and it will allow the result to be settled by the players on the field.

“We wish to thank the USL Championship and the Professional Referees Organization for their diligence under these unusual circumstances.”

The result could play a critical role in playoff seeding.

Before the ruling, the Riverhounds were in a tough spot in the race for second place in the USL’s Atlantic Division, which comes with a first-round home game in the playoffs. They were tied with Charlotte with 52 points, but Charlotte had a game in hand.

Now, the Riverhounds are one point behind, but, including the Miami replay, they also have three games left to play.

The Riverhounds will play host to Charleston on Saturday and Hartford the following Saturday.

Charlotte has games left with Hartford on Friday, Loudoun United on Wednesday and Austin Bold FC the following Saturday.