‘Five pints in hospitality’: How fan stopped bizarre Portsmouth clash being abandoned by stepping up to become assistant referee

There were surreal scenes in today’s 0-0 draw at Fratton Park as TWO officials picked up injuries - leading to a call going out on the PA system for a qualified referee to step up.

Julian Browning was the man to step up from corporate hospitality and take on assistant referee duties in a bizarre turns of events, with Pompey steward Adrian ‘Bunny’ Redding also offering his services.

The match was in danger of being called off with a lengthy stoppage in play before Browning ran the same line where an assistant referee also suffered an injury against Exeter City on Tuesday night.

Pompey midfielder Joe Morrell joked Browning would’ve been enjoying liquid refreshment in the corporate lounge, before doing an exemplary job - as 21 minutes of stoppage time was added.

Morrell said: ‘We were in the dark about whether the game was going to go ahead.

‘But in the end someone who’d had five pints in hospitality stepped up - and luckily he didn’t have much to do.

‘There were questions being asked. I guess if you’re their manager you’d be a little worried about pulling a Pompey fan from the crowd.

‘But by the same token 0-0 is a fantastic result for them at 60 minutes, so they probably wanted to carry on.

‘It was just logistical stuff then and umming and ahing about the logistics at that point.

Morrell was clear the second-half stoppage did affect momentum on a frustrating afternoon as Cheltenham proved a stubborn opponent.

The Robins proved difficult to break down, though the Wales international knows Pompey have to do more to open up sides who come to Fratton Park with limited ambition.

He added: ‘We all know this place is special for that. There’s not many places in the country where the fans can suck the ball into the net metaphorically.

‘We are always confident when we come out drawing in the second half, because we know the impact this stadium and especially that end can have on us and the opposition.

‘It didn’t help, but we’re not in the business of making excuses - we need to look at what we can do better.’