According to the British media Daily Mail, in the first round of the new season's English League Two, an injury to an assistant referee caused a chaotic scene of urgently looking for a replacement in the first round of the new season.
In the 26th minute of the first half, linebacker Scott Jockley was unable to continue to enforce the law due to injury, and the game was suspended. As there is no backup referee available, the fourth official took over as a borderman, resulting in unsupervised substitutions or managing technical areas. The live broadcast system sends an emergency help message: Are there qualified referees on the scene?
When the players returned to the locker room and the scene was in chaos, Bromley's social media team reported the chaotic scene in real time, saying: "The public broadcast system is asking if there are qualified referees. Ladies and gentlemen, football is back." The subsequent update reads: "Okay, there is no progress at the moment. We are still waiting for a qualified referee. At the same time, how are you doing in the afternoon? Are you okay?"
After 17 minutes of delay, the solution finally came, and Shrewsbury fans, Allen Coke, who is qualified as a fifth-level referee, walked out of the stands and took over as the fourth official.
Shrewsbury posted a photo on social media and wrote: "Salute to our new fourth official this afternoon! Thank you for saving the game, Allen." After the game resumed, the first half was 17 minutes long, but neither side could break the deadlock.
There were a total of 5,809 spectators in this game, including 280 visiting fans.
This is not the only disturbed English League Two match in the first round. Newport County's 1-1 draw with Notts County was delayed by an hour due to a medical emergency in the stands. After two aerial ambulances landed on the stadium, the game finally kicked off at 4 p.m. local time.