Vive le Championnat National! The French third division came roaring back into life with an incredible opening day tie between SR Colmar and FC Chambly that featured two red cards, a 97th-minute penalty equaliser and an amateur referee on the field for the majority of the game.
With just 22 minutes on the clock, league referee Dimitri Kristo was forced off with an injury.
With no fourth official supplied for Championnat National fixtures, the game was then delayed for a further 10 minutes while officials decided on the best course of action.
[FOOTBALL] Pause fraîcheur ici à #Colmar. Il fait plus de 30 degrés. On joue depuis 23 minutes et le score est de 0-0 pic.twitter.com/xk18Dr1CaO
— Top music (@TopmusicAlsace) August 7, 2015
Indeed, the game came perilously close to being abandoned entirely before home side Colmar put out a desperate plea for a replacement referee over the stadium loudspeakers.
As luck would have it, it just so happened that a chap who refereed in the local Alsace amateur league was in attendance. Having heard the message, he made his way to the touchline and offered his services.
The necessary arrangement were then made as the heroic substitute made his way out onto the pitch to oversee the remaining 70-odd minutes of action.
However, the new ref wasn’t exactly given an easy afternoon amid the 30-degree heat, with visitors Chambly ending the game two men light after conceding an equaliser from the spot in the final minute of stoppage time.
In fact, the score card was a bit of a hotch-potch by the end of the match…
La blessure de M. Kristo lors de #Colmar – #Cambly restera une belle anecdote ! #National pic.twitter.com/OV49fG7dTf
— Teddy Leclercq (@Te2dyL) August 7, 2015
Le chaos!
(Via France3)