[devo22]

Spud saves the day!

There were farcical scenes at Carrow Road when a Norwich City fan and qualified referee had to be pulled from the crowd to stand in as fourth official.

Superfan David 'Spud' Thornhill enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame at the close of Norwich's 1-1 draw with Preston North End - quite literally because the confusion lead to 10 minutes of stoppage time.

It was quite the day for Thornhill, who was also the subject of a set-piece interview in the matchday programme. The trouble began when a linesman pulled up with an injury, and was replaced by the fourth official. However, there was no other EFL official at the stadium to act as his back-up. Referee Tim Robinson took the players from the field and the game briefly looked under threat of abandonment, until Thornhill came to the rescue.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/...l-carrow-road/