Dissent Into Madness: Hemel Hempstead Striker Sanchez Watt Sent Off (Then Immediately ‘Un-Sent Off’) After Confusing Surname Causes Hilarious Referee Mix-Up

Chris Wright

7th, March 2018

3 Comments

Photo: @Ollie_Bayliss/Twitter

Former Arsenal player Sanchez Watt found himself involved in a slapstick refereeing gaffe when his Hemel Hempstead team hosted East Thurrock in the National League South on Tuesday evening.

The referee initially booked Watt for kicking the ball away, though pandemonium duly ensued when the official attempted to ask the forward for his name.

The confusion was then cleared up by Thurrock Councillor Jack Duffin, who was presumably in attendance supporting the away side…

It transpired that the referee had shown Watt a second yellow card for dissent after mistakenly thinking that the 27-year-old was refusing to answer his question.

The official ran out of patience after being told ‘What?’ three times and dismissed Hemel’s striker for dissent,

It was at that point that the club’s captain Jordan Parkes quickly intervened to explain that Watt’s name is indeed ‘Watt’, thus leading to the red card being rescinded there and then.

The Tudors went on to register a 2-0 victory, with Watt getting his name on the scoresheet – though presumably that took an absolute age to get right, too.

Posted in Non-League

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3 Comments

  1. jackie wilshere says:

    hahaha great article, love the lower echelons of football

  2. Geraldo says:

    His name is printed on the back of his shirt. Surely the ref should have known that and if even it had slipped his mind, surely the player should have had the presence of mind to turn round and let him see it.

    Or maybe the story is a tad contrived…

    • B13 via Blendon says:

      No fixed squad numbers – hence no names on shirts – below division five (National League Premier).

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