Row involving mate rung by mistake (8)
I believe the answer is:
argument
'row' is the definition.
(row can mean an argument)
'mate rung by mistake' is the wordplay.
'by mistake' is an anagram indicator.
'mate'+'rung'='materung'
'materung' with letters rearranged gives 'ARGUMENT'.
'involving' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for argument that I've seen before include "One or more reasons" , "Barney" , "Altercation" , "Contentious debate" , "Debate or dispute" .)