Football Federation Australia has conceded the Wellington Phoenix were denied a rightful penalty.
The New Zealand group ought to have been playing 10 men before All Whites defender Ben Sigmund was mistakenly sent off by Australia’s World Cup-bound official Ben Williams throughout an occurrence-pressed A-League stalemate with Melbourne Heart on Sunday, it said.
A dooming examination of Williams’ ref duties throughout a sensational 2-2 cliffhanger at AAMI Park in Melbourne is still insufficient relief to the Phoenix.
The group had been frantic to secure three needed points to close in on the main six with just four consistent season diversions remaining.
With the FFA finally admitting fault, perhaps the poor performance of refereeing this season can be addressed and fixed for the upcoming 2014/15 competition.