Assistant referee Darren Cann has been dropped from Saturday's FA Cup tie between Crystal Palace and Manchester City because he used to play for Palace's youth teams.
The FA took the decision to remove Cann from duty at Selhurst Park after they were alerted to the fact that he had once been on Palace's books.
The 47-year-old played in the Eagles youth teams in the 1980s, and the Daily Mail reported that the FA had replaced him on Saturday's rota with Mick McDonough, blaming an "administrative error."
An FA spokesperson told the Mail: "Darren Cann was incorrectly listed as an official for the Emirates FA Cup fourth round fixture between Crystal Palace and Manchester City.