Sunderland have succeeded in overturning the red card shown to defender Wes Brown against Manchester United on Saturday.
Brown was dismissed by referee Roger East for what the official felt was a foul on United striker Radamel Falcao in the area, although it appeared on replays that John O'Shea had been the man to impede the Colombian.
Referees' body the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) released a statement after the match insisting it was not a case of mistaken identity and that East did in fact mean to send Brown off.
East believed he saw contact from O'Shea and Brown on Falcao and sent off the latter as, in his view, Brown's foul had been the crucial one, the statement said.
However, an independent regulatory commission convened by the FA cleared Brown of any wrongdoing and he is free from suspension.
A statement on the FA website read: "An Independent Regulatory Commission has today upheld a claim of wrongful dismissal in relation to Wes Brown. The Sunderland defender was dismissed in the game against Manchester United on Saturday 28 February 2015 for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
"Therefore, his one-match suspension has been withdrawn with immediate effect."
Despite the reversal, Sunderland manager Gus Poyet is not in favour of the introduction of replays in games, which might have spared his team from having to play the final 25 minutes at Old Trafford with only 10 men.
He said: "Football is so nice because there are issues and there are ways of dealing with these situations, and we can comment and we can talk about it.
"If football becomes mathematics, like everything is going to be perfection, I think it's going to be a bit more boring, that's my opinion.
"Even then, there are going to be controversies somehow because I remember the Jozy Altidore penalty at Chelsea last year -- I was listening to the television and the two pundits on TV were not agreeing after watching five replays, so how long are you going to delay a game? How many hours is a difficult game going to last?
"Is that what we want, really? Me, no. Maybe I am a little bit old-fashioned. Goals are so important that it's something that's very nice now with the technology, but the rest, I would leave it like it is. I know others want technology, but I am sure that if the technology goes against them five times in a row, they are not going to be very happy."
Poyet was understandably delighted to see common sense prevail ahead of Tuesday's game against Hull, which could have a major say in how the remainder of the club's season pans out.
"I am very, very pleased. It's the way that we all like to live, by the rules. Sometimes the rules are not very clear, but we try to understand the rules, like anyone else," he said. "But this one was very clear, so I am pleased that everything finished well, so thanks to everybody, especially the club. They did a very good job in those hours over the weekend when you are supposed to be relaxing.
"It's good news as well. In a very important game tomorrow, we need Wes."
As a result of the Brown incident, East will be a fourth official for three straight matches this week.
East had already been named fourth official for two midweek Premier League matches -- Southampton versus Crystal Palace on Tuesday and Liverpool against Burnley on Wednesday -- prior to the Old Trafford clash between Manchester United and Sunderland. Now East has been named fourth official for Saturday's Premier League clash between QPR and Tottenham, which Craig Pawson will referee.
Premier League match official appointments are made by PGMOL. East has not been named as an official for any of the four FA Cup ties which take place this weekend. The competition's appointments are made by the FA.
Former referee Mark Halsey criticised East and PGMOL. Writing on Kicca, Halsey said: "It's obvious that Roger East lost his focus and sent off the wrong man in Wes Brown, but the unexpected statement from the PGMOL just a few hours after Sunderland's defeat to Manchester United has made the situation worse.
"By coming out with a statement, the PGMOL has interfered with the appeal process. They've made a rod for their own back by supporting the decision to dismiss Brown and there's no way the ban can be handed to O'Shea with any credibility.
"It's just another move that's been typical of the PGMOL this season. [PGMOL chief] Mike Riley is out of his depth as its leader and a lack of clarity has left everyone confused."