England and Norway to replay final seconds of qualifier

UEFA has ruled that England and Norway’s Under-19s women’s teams will replay the final seconds of a qualifier after the referee admitted an error in a penalty decision.

Having trailed 2-0 after 86 minutes of the UEFA Women’s Under-19 Championship qualifier, England pulled a goal back two minutes from time before being awarded a spot-kick by referee Marija Kurtes deep into stoppage time.

Leah Williamson converted with 96 minutes on the clock to level the scores, but Kurtes ruled the goal out due to encroachment and, instead of ordering a re-take, gave Norway a free-kick.

In a surprise move, UEFA has opted to replay the final stages of the game in Belfast despite Norway having seemingly qualified for the knockout stage.

“We originally wrote that Norway had qualified but on 8 April the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) announced that Norway’s game against England on 4 April will be replayed from the minute a penalty kick was awarded to England, who were 2-1 down at the time,” the organisation said on their website.

It is the first time UEFA has made such a ruling. A different referee will be in charge.