Ref sends himself off

Sorry ref - you've got to go

A football referee was forced to abandon a game after showing himself the red card.

Andy Wain decided he had to go following a run-in with a goalkeeper in the Sunday League match.

The incident happened during a contest between Peterborough North End and Royal Mail AYL.

North End keeper Richard McGaffin was unhappy with a goal that put the opposition 2-1 up, inisting a player had been fouled.

But instead of giving McGaffin a ticking off, Wain lost his temper.

The ref hurled down his whistle, untucked his shirt and marched up to eyeball the player, before realising the error of his ways.

If a player did that I would send him off - so I had to go Andy Wain

The 39-year-old official, who had a few personal problems leading up to the Peterborough Sunday League Two clash, admitted he should have stayed at home.

"With hindsight I should never have officiated," he said.

"It was totally unprofessional. If a player did that I would send him off, so I had to go.

"I heard the keeper say 'It's always the bloody same with you, ref - we never get anything'. It was the last straw, but fortunately I came to my senses."

Wain, whose future as a ref is now hanging in the balance, had to abandon the game as he headed for an early bath in the 63rd minute - because there was no-one else to officiate.

Fortunately he did not compound his error by arguing with himself about the sending off.