'Bizarre': The crazy mistake which saw 10-man Portsmouth refused permission to make substitutions against Leyton Orient

And the highly unusual Brisbane Road incident centred on an incorrect team-sheet.

The Blues had been reduced to 10 men during the first half of Tuesday night’s encounter at Leyton Orient in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.

In a bid to reinvigorate his tiring side, John Mousinho attempted to introduce his first substitute early in the second half, with Terry Devlin earmarked for an entrance.

However, fourth official Carl Brook wouldn’t sanction the change on account of the Irishman not wearing the right shirt.

Devlin has played number 24 for the Blues in nine matches this season, including bagging the winner at Reading with it on his back.

Yet the fourth official’s team-sheet incorrectly had Devlin down at number 17.

He wasn’t alone, with other errors including right-back Joe Rafferty (number nine), centre-half Conor Shaughnessy (12) and first-choice goalkeeper Will Norris (13).

As a consequence of the team-sheet’s playing numbers not corresponding with the actual players, Mousinho wasn’t allowed to make any substitutions.

It all stemmed from an unfortunate mistake made by whoever at Leyton Orient wrote out the team-sheets handed out to the media, corporate, staff and, as it turned out, some of the match officials.

And it didn’t reflect the official team-sheet officially submitted to referee Stephen Parkinson before kick-off.

The Blues’ head coach told BBC Radio Solent’s Andy Moon: ‘The team sheet was absolutely fine from our point of view, I don’t know if you saw but I went down the tunnel to get it.

‘They wouldn't let us make a substitution because Leyton Orient had got the wrong numbers on the team-sheet, that was absolutely bizarre, just bizarre, and we weren't allowed to make a substitution.

‘I don’t know, it wasn’t the fourth official’s fault, I don’t know what it was.

‘You can probably understand how frustrated we were, especially when we were told that we had put the wrong number on, we’d got the wrong team-sheet, so I thought I’d better check, went down the tunnel, picked up the team-sheet.

‘Lo-and-behold it was correct, everything was fine at our end.’

Having proven the official team-sheet was correct, Devlin was introduced in the 64th minute of the 2-1 success.

Pompey were also later allowed to bring on Shaughnessy, Rafferty and debutant Sam Folarin as they qualified for the knock-out stages of the competition.