A football disciplinary body has ruled that a match in the top tier of Belgian football between Anderlecht and Genk will be replayed in full after a VAR error led to a misapplication of the laws of the game.
The incident occurred in the 23rd minute of the match when Genk forward Yira Sor followed up on teammate Bryan Heynan‘s missed penalty to finish beyond former Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who had saved the initial spot-kick.
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Replays showed that Sor was inside the penalty area as Heynan struck the ball, causing the VAR to recommend to referee Nathan Verboomen that the goal should be ruled out.
However, the replay also showed that two Anderlecht players had also encroached into the penalty area, which, according to the laws of the game, should have resulted in Genk’s penalty being retaken, rather than the match officials’ decision which was to award Anderlecht a free kick.
Anderlecht eventually won the match 2-1 via a 91st-minute winner from Anders Dreyer on Dec. 23, 2023.
