Confusion hung in the air ahead of extra time in Reading’s 5-3 victory over non-league Harborough Town, as star striker Sam Smith was about to enter the action only to be told he needed to sit down for the next 30 minutes.
The Royals needed an additional half-hour to defeat the eighth-tier Bees in the FA Cup second round, going down to ten men and losing an equaliser five minutes from time in an all-time FA Cup classic.
Substitute Chem Campbell won the tie, scoring twice in two minutes to pull it away from Harborough and advance to the third round.
However, Smith did not get the chance to be the match winner due to a ‘mistake.’
Having used all five of their changes, both benches believed that a sixth change was permitted during the extra period.
Finally, the regulations specify that this is no longer the case, and clubs are given an additional ‘opportunity’ to make adjustments, but not an additional modification itself.
Teams have three opportunities to make replacements during play, in addition to the natural pauses at halftime and between full-time and extra-time.
Speaking after the match, Selles stated that he will’seek clarification’ from the authorities to prevent making a similar error in the future. “We will seek clarification because we were told you can make an additional substitution if you go to extra time.
Their management was also on the same page because it had been the norm. The referee stated that it had altered, therefore I needed to double-check a paragraph.
“If it should be like that then it was our mistake, but we will ask for clarification.”
Both teams had used all five of their allotted substitutions within the 90-minute period, with 17-year-old Andre Garcia limping for the final 20 minutes due to a knock.
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