Thursday 5 April 2018 18:46, UK
World Rugby has revealed they wanted the World Cup qualifier between Spain and Belgium to be replayed, but issues surrounding player eligibility have led to an independent review into the match.
World Rugby is already looking into the appointment of Romanian referee Vlad Iordaschescu for the match, which determined whether Romania qualified for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Belgium won 18-10, with all of their points coming from penalty kicks. Spain would have qualified with a win and the Spanish players and officials blamed Iordaschescu for their team's defeat.
World Rugby is to set up an emergency dispute committee to review the match, despite admitting that they initially believed a replay was in the best interests of the game.
A World Rugby statement on Thursday read: "World Rugby was deeply concerned about the process and perception of Rugby Europe's appointment of a match official team that was not neutral in the context of qualification. The World Rugby Executive Committee and Rugby World Cup Board felt that a replay would be in the best interests of the game.
"Since expressing that view, new information relating to player eligibility has been presented to World Rugby by the participating unions. Given this information concerns potential breaches of World Rugby regulations, and given the complexity and interconnectivity of the issues, a full and independent review is warranted.
"World Rugby's independent judicial panel chairman Christopher Quinlan QC has been asked to form and convene the disputes committee on an emergency basis in order to achieve certainty as soon as possible."
