Carshalton Athletic of the Isthmian Premier League were knocked out of the FA Cup last weekend, largely thanks to a controversial penalty awarded to the visitors Ebbsfleet United.
After taking an early lead through Daniel Bassett, the hosts looked on course to complete a famous cup upset against the National League South side.
However, just 9 minutes later, referee Paul Johnson pointed to the spot after an Ebbsfleet player fell inside the penalty area. The official must have thought Luke Read had fouled the winger, as he presented him a yellow card just seconds later.
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Replays show that Read was nowhere near the Ebbsfleet man and the latter had simply fallen over.
After Rakish Bingham scored the rebound of the penalty, 'The Fleet' went on to win the match two minutes from time, with many citing Johnson's decision as the turning point.
"I suspect that ref will will be doing a game somewhere at conference south level this weekend too," someone tweeted. "#needssacking."
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"How has the lino not seen it?" another asked. "He is bang in line! Both should be doing parks football, that is awful."
"The attacker should have been honest and told the referee he didn't get fouled," a fan commented. "We keep on blaming the refs but players also have to take some responsibility and not cheat."
Carshalton Athletic's even commented on the incident on their official website after the match.
"The Robins' FA journey was ended by a refereeing mistake," the statement reads. "A penalty (and yellow card) were mistakenly given without players even making contact. It's a bitter pill to swallow after such a gallant and brave performance.
There are no hard feelings towards the referee or linesman. We are sure it was a genuine mistake, albeit a very damaging one."
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Ebbsfleet will now travel to Aylesbury United on Saturday 2nd October for the next round of the competition.
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Topics:Β Non-League, FA Cup, Penalty
