Will a spare fourth official please stand up?
Those may not have been the exact words of the announcement over the tannoy, but Cardiff City had to put out a call for a replacement during their clash against Coventry City after just 17 minutes.
Referee Geoff Eltringham began the match with the whistle in hand while James Durkin took up fourth official duties.
However, Durkin was forced to take over when Eltringham pulled up lame.
With Durkin now in the middle, there was no-one left to act as fourth official.
As a result, an announcement was made at the Cardiff City Stadium for a volunteer from the crowd.
A post from Cardiff’s X account said: “A call has also gone out at CCS for a qualified fourth official to assist our new ref.
“You don’t see this everyday.”
Coventry boss Frank Lampard will have hoped to use the break in action to help his team regain their composure as they fell behind after just six minutes.
The Bluebirds took the lead through Alexander Robertson as he smashed home a volley from close range.
More to follow…
