Belgian top-flight match to be replayed after VAR error

The game between Anderlecht and Genk will be replayed in full after the laws of football were wrongly applied

VAR causes huge controversy in football (Getty Images)

A Belgian Pro League match between Anderlecht and Genk will be replayed in full due to a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) error, after the Disciplinary Council for Professional Football ruled in favour of a Genk appeal.

After suffering a 2-1 defeat at Anderlecht’s Lotto Park on 23 December, four-time champions Genk filed a complaint with the Referee Department saying an incorrect VAR decision had been made following a penalty kick.

The incident occurred after winger Yira Sor fired in a rebound past Anderlecht goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel seconds after Bryan Heynen’s penalty miss. But the goal was ruled out following a VAR check as replays showed Sor was inside the penalty area.

However, the replays also showed encroachment, with two Anderlecht players inside the penalty area as the spot-kick was being taken.

“The Council then followed Genk’s argument that the referees incorrectly applied the rules around the penalty in question,” Genk said in a statement.

Genk are fifth in Belgium’s top flight, while record 34-time champions Anderlecht sit second. A date for the replay is yet to be announced

Reuters