Portsmouth 0-0 Cheltenham Town - Fan runs the line as two assistant referees injured at Fratton Park

'There was a chance the game could have been called off,' without the fan volunteering to run the line

You never know when you might be called into action, as one fan found out when he ran the line in Portsmouth's goalless League One draw with Cheltenham Town on Saturday.

Not one but two assistant referees were injured, leading to an appeal for qualified officials at Fratton Park.

Fourth official Stephen Brown took over in the first half but was replaced himself early in the second, with a supporter from the South Stand coming to the rescue for the final 35 minutes plus an additional 21 minutes of stoppage time.

The local league referee, Julian Browning, told BBC Radio 5 Live's 606: "I was wearing shorts and trainers. I got some kit from the second assistant ref, shorts and socks that another official had spare and a pair of gold boots appeared in the changing room.

"If you're going to make your presence felt you might as well wear gold boots, hey?"

Robins boss Wade Elliot had to give the go-ahead to a Portsmouth supporter officiating and told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: "I think they should all have a curry and four pints before coming on, it seemed to do the trick.

"He was probably the best official we've had this year.

"I did worry when he walked (on) and gave the messiah salute to the North Stand, but it's one of those things - the players dealt with it really well. It would have been easy to have lost focus.

"I went in and spoke to them, gave them the thanks, asked them what they wanted to do and they were 'bring it on'."

How a 'surreal' afternoon played out

Pompey boss John Mousinho dubbed it "a surreal afternoon," as his side missed the chance to go top after a stalemate which will live in the memory more for events off the field than those on it.

Brown was called up on 35 minutes when one of the assistant referees suffered an apparent calf injury before he found himself unable to continue after the break.

Referee Ben Toner disappeared down the tunnel with the ball, followed soon after by the Cheltenham players, with an announcement over the public address system for qualified officials in the ground to make themselves known.

"We had been wondering what was going on. Everyone that sits around me knows I am a local referee, not a brilliant standard," Browning added.

"I was a bit unsure at first. They made a second call and I thought 'oh, what the hell?' I've not been on the turf at Fratton Park since I was an 11-year-old playing in a schools cup final in 1978."

After Julian had got changed, another warm-up took place and play resumed with 35 minutes of normal time on the clock.

"I am a massive Pompey fan, I have been for 50 years, I've been a season ticket holder forever," he continued.

"The adrenaline kicked in. I was worried about two things, one, if a contentious decision happened, but also if Pompey had scored how was I going to react?"

He needn't have worried, no goals were scored before the final whistle eventually sounded at a late 17:22 BST.

Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent: "There was a chance the game could have been called off, particularly because no one knew of the linesman's affiliation as he came down from the stand.

"The away team could have said no they didn't agree with him officiating the match, but they didn't, so credit to them."

Julian expects his next action to be officiating in a friendly game in the local league on Wednesday night as he prepares for the start of the local league season next month.