THREE years ago, Darvel shocked everyone when they recorded one of the biggest upsets in Scottish Cup history by beating Premiership side Aberdeen. But today they were the victims of one the most shocking refereeing mistakes you'll EVER see or read about. The Ayrshire club are fighting for survival in the West of Scotland Premier Division this season and currently sit bottom of the table (but they do have games in hand), a far cry from their cup glory days. Today they travelled to the outskirts of Paisley to take on Johnstone Burgh, who had the chance to go joint-second with a win. Burgh have former Rangers, Hearts and Kilmarnock star Kyle Lafferty among their ranks and it was he who ended up at the centre of a truly bizarre refereeing mistake - one that cost Darvel dearly. Darvel were winning 1-0 when Burgh decided to make a substitution with around 15 minutes to go. But the catch? They'd already made the maximum of five changes. The referee didn't notice however and Burgh were allowed to bring Lafferty on as a SIXTH sub - and he duly made a massive impact. The striker helped win a penalty within two minutes on coming on (a contentious one at that) and only then did the officials begin to realise their mistakes. However, Burgh were allowed to REVERSE the substitution and as Lafferty went off, Fraser Mullen stepped up to score from the spot. The decision left the Vale players, coaching team and fans incredulous and things only got worse. The home side then snatched a winner in the FOURTH minute of stoppage time to compound the visitors' misery. Vale boss Michael Oliver said after the game that he felt his side had been CHEATED and that he was now almost questioning his involvement in football. He said: "The referee ruined the game, we've ultimately been cheated. I can't stand here and say anything else. "We're winning 1-0 and really comfortable, they might have had more of the ball but they weren't hurting us. "They missed one big chance from a header that they should score but other than that our goalkeeper had one really good save. "If you can come through a game here and say that about your goalie then you've done well. "Look, it's a disgrace really. I'm kind of lost for words, actually. "I feel sick and it almost makes you not want to be involved in football if referees can as bad as that, it's honestly incredible." Oliver also called out Johnstone Burgh for making the substitution in the first place, even though they took the player back off. He said: "It's on them as well, how can they make six subs and just get away with it? "I don't know what else to say. I'm absolutely sick about the full thing." Oliver described the penalty as perhaps the most controversial he'd ever seen in the circumstances. He said: "It's probably the most controversial penalty you'll ever see. "I don't think you'll see another one. "They've literally subbed a player on, allowed him to go into the box, put the ball on his head, he knocks it down and it's apparently a handball. "The linesman on the far side said it wasn't a handball and he's closer to it than the referee, they then sub the player back OFF and they score the penalty. "So I don't know, are we playing hockey or rugby now? "Genuinely that's what that was like. "You'll never see it again in your life. "It's like having a set play specialist, you win a free-kick 25 yards from goal and you're specialist isn't playing but you're allowed to sub him on to take the free-kick and then sub him back off. "It's honestly incredible and I don't know what can be done about it. "And certainly whatever does get done about it, it won't go in our favour. "If that doesn't happen, we win that game. I'm confident we win that game 1-0 and we'd be going home with a deserved three points. "It's just really hard to take." Fans on social media were quick to comment on the farcical situation. After watching the interview on the club's Twitter (X) account, this fan said: "Very interesting words from Darvel manager, Mick Oliver Johnstone Burgh making six subs. Will we see a win awarded to Darvel? Replayed fixture? Burgh win?" Another said: "Nothing against the Burgh, but by all accounts, Darvel were absolutely done today by a massive mistake by the official." And a third replied: "Absolutely bonkers!" Others began to speculate on how the matter would be dealt with. One said: "If it’s not a 3-0 to Darvel then it’s just corruption…" Another said: "It’s got to be a 3-0 win to Darvel. Literally don’t think there’s any other option surely?" Burgh boss Murdo MacKinnon wasn't asked about the substitution error but did comment on the award of the penalty itself. He said: "The penalty kick, it can happen, it was too far away for me to see to be honest." Darvel later released a statement that read: "Darvel Football Club is very disappointed that the result of today's match at Johnstone Burgh was unfairly influenced by the introduction of a sixth substitute by Johnstone Burgh, in breach of the IFAB laws and WOSFL rules. "That this breach of the laws was not identified by the SFA match officials is also disappointing. We are presently considering our options and have informed the WOSFL as such." Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page