Referee Craig Joubert was wrong to award a crucial 78th-minute penalty
against Scotland in Sunday's World Cup quarter-final defeat by
Australia, says World Rugby.
Scotland led 34-32 at Twickenham when Jon Welsh was
ruled deliberately offside for playing the ball after a knock-on by a
team-mate.
The governing body said that, because Australia's Nick Phipps touched the ball, "the appropriate decision should have been a scrum to Australia for the original knock-on".
Scotland lost 35-34 after Bernard Foley kicked the penalty.
The statement added that Joubert "could not refer to the television match official (TMO) in this case and therefore had to rely on what he saw in real time".
World Rugby regulations only permit the TMO to rule on foul play or whether tries or kicks at goal are legitimate.
Scotland coach Vern Cotter said a TMO referral "would have taken away any doubt".
Joubert has not been selected to officiate in this weekend's semi-finals with Frenchman Jerome Garces refereeing South Africa versus New Zealand on Saturday.
England's Wayne Barnes will oversee Australia against Argentina on Sunday. Both matches are at Twickenham.
World Rugby high performance match official manager Joel Jutge said: "Despite this experience, Craig has been and remains a world-class referee and an important member of our team."
The South African, who refereed the 2011 World Cup final, was criticised for running from the pitch after the final whistle without shaking hands with the players.
Former Scotland captain Gavin Hastings described Joubert's swift exit as the "the worst thing I have seen on a rugby field in a very long time".
Matt Dawson, part of England's World Cup-winning side of 2003, said it was "disrespectful to the game".
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