Anderlecht deflated at replay order

RSC Anderlecht must replay their game against RAA Louviéroise after a burst ball helped them to a 2-1 win in the original fixture.

Explosive shot
After 63 minutes of the game on 6 November, Walter Baseggio scored Anderlecht's second goal with a shot from the edge of the area, but the goal was a controversial one. Television footage clearly showed that the ball had come out of its leather casing and exploded before crossing the line.

Regulations invoked
La Louvière immediately complained, protesting that the rules of the game dictate that the referee must stop the match immediately if the ball explodes or goes flat and restart the game with a new ball and with the players returning to the positions they were in when the ball was discovered to be damaged.

Initial appeal
Their initial appeal to the Belgian Football Asociation was rejected but the appeals committee has now concurred with La Louvière's assessment and decided that the game must be replayed. Incredibly, a similar incident occurred in a youth team game between AFC Ajax and SC Heerenveen a few days later, but the referee disallowed the resulting goal immediately.