REFEREE KEITH STROUD has been removed from his scheduled fixture this weekend after a bizarre penalty blunder at Newcastle United.
Stroud will not officiate Gillingham’s third-tier clash with Millwall on Saturday while the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) review Wednesday’s farcical penalty incident during a Championship game.
The 47-year-old disallowed Matt Ritchie’s successful first-half penalty for Newcastle against Burton and awarded the visitors an indirect free-kick rather than ruling the spot-kick be retaken after Newcastle’s Dwight Gayle encroached.
Game rules indicated Newcastle should have been allowed a second chance from 12 yards and the PGMOL confirmed Stroud had made an error.
It is not yet clear how long the review will take or when Stroud will next officiate. The PGMOL statement said the referee had apologised for his mistake.
“In the Championship game between Newcastle United and Burton Albion, referee Keith Stroud awarded Newcastle a penalty in the 29th minute,” the statement read.
“As Matt Ritchie took the kick, Dwight Gayle encroached in the penalty area. An indirect free-kick was awarded to Burton, but the Laws of the Game state that the penalty kick should have been retaken.
“Unfortunately, the referee has misapplied the law. Keith and his team are understandably upset at the lapse in concentration and apologise for the mistake.”
Newcastle won the game through a second-half goal from Ritchie to move them top of the Championship.
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