A Chinese referee could be in some really hot water after he allowed a team to field 12 players during a match in a bizarre turn of events, as reported by Goal.com.
Chinese second tier sides Beijing Renhe and Baoding Rongda squared off on Monday; with the clock winding down towards the end of the match, in which Beijing was leading, midfielder Rao Weihui returned to proceedings to help defend a Baoding corner, not realising he had been subbed off by his manager.
Football China: Beijing Renhe played in 12 against 11 and the referee does not notice anything https://t.co/BiaDi3AIjO pic.twitter.com/i0gGPxu4hf
— clumsybird org (@StudyChineseSh) April 12, 2017
Rao had been receiving medical assistance on the touchline when the coach decided to throw Han Xuan on, but Rao, somehow, never got the message and re-entered the match completely unawares.
The match officials amazingly missed it too, and the match would go on for 40 seconds before the referee, Zhen Wei, realised his blunder due to the Baoding crowd shouting "12 men, they had 12 men!"
Rao was eventually asked to leave, but Beijing were able to hold on to their 1-0 lead, as defending a corner with 12 men does give a team a significant advantage. The unfortunate referee hasn't made an official statement, nor have the Chinese Football Association. But it is expected that he will be relieved of his duties as a match official.
Kavan Flavius is a regular contributor to the Official Chelsea Guest Fan Blog, find him on Twitter@KavanFlavius.