'It was totally bizarre' - Camelon Juniors boss Stewart Kenny on one of his players stepping in to referee game after original official was crocked
With Hobbs unable to continue, it was agreed that the game would be called off and re-arranged for a later date, with the sides instead playing a bounce game with Camelon player Mark Sharp stepping in as referee!
“Mark’s refereeing was a disgrace!” Camelon boss Kenny joked to the Falkirk Herald. “He never moved outside the centre circle, he let an offside goal we scored stand and then chopped off a good one we scored for offside.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad"So he really needs to take a look at himself! But seriously, fair play to him, he went on the park and took a bit of banter from his team-mates.
"Not a lot of people would have had the bravery to do that. He’s a good lad, Sharpy.
"I told him he needs to go and sit the referees’ course because he doesn’t know the laws!
Kenny said that initial official Hobbs had tried to continue but ultimately felt it would be unfair on both teams to do so due to his lack of mobility meaning he would have to officiate from a stationary position in the centre circle.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad"I think the referee just sustained his injury in an accidental collision with a player and he went over on his ankle,” the Mariners gaffer added.
"I had been watching the play, turned round and saw the referee lying on the ground.
"He got some treatment for a couple of minutes then he tried to make a run up the park and couldn’t so he made the decision to call it off.
"I’ve been involved in some bizarre games but it’s the first time I’ve ever seen a referee having to retire through injury and the managers agreeing to play it as a bounce game.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad"Greig Denham (Rosyth boss) is not into his job much longer than me so I think it was a good opportunity – when we were all there and the players had their strips on – to get everybody some minutes by playing a friendly.
"The pace went from high to low from the abandonment to the restart, but that’s just expected because everybody was deflated.”
For the record, Camelon won the ‘friendly’ 3-1 thanks to goals by Mitchell Taylor (2) and Kieran Anderson.
Camelon, third bottom of the current standings with nine points from 10 games, visit second bottom Lochore Welfare in the league this Saturday with kick-off at 2pm.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad"It’s a massive game,” Kenny said. “It’s the proverbial six pointer.
"It’s been like that since I’ve come in, every game’s been against teams round about us.
"Obviously we’re unbeaten in both games we’ve played and hopefully we continue that at Lochore.
"It’s a very tough place to go, tight pitch, not the best surface in deepest, darkest Fife, it’s a different world up there."
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.