Fan steps in as linesman: “Luckily I was sober”

Actually, Luc Bosmans just wanted to have a cozy evening of football in the stands of his favorite club Mechelen and watch the cup game against Genk in peace and quiet. It went well that way for a long time, the game was good, exciting and finally went into extra time. But things got strange there: First, one of the two linesmen sustained an injury and was no longer able to continue. Nothing tragic in itself, it happens quite often in football. That's why the fourth official stepped into the breach - but things were to get worse. Only a little later the main referee Christof Dierick was hit and things couldn't go any further for him.

Now there was a serious problem as there was no other replacement on site. Playing on without a linesman? Impossible. The game was about to be abandoned when the captains of both teams finally came up with a last-ditch solution. A little later, the stadium announcer asked over the microphone whether there was a referee in the stands who could step in as a linesman. And that was Luc Bosmans' big moment. The Mechelen fan usually whistles in the amateur league and is therefore permitted to act as a referee and therefore also as a linesman. After a short warm-up phase and equipped with appropriate clothing, Bosmans actually acted as linesman for the last 15 minutes, while the actual linesman took over the management of the game. Bosmans did a good job, but in the end his team had to admit defeat 4:5 after a penalty shootout.

It must still have been an unforgettable experience for the substitute linesman, which he commented dryly after the end of the game: “Luckily the game wasn’t on a Saturday, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have stayed sober.”

SN/td

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

Fan steps in as linesman: “Luckily I was sober”

You don't experience a story like this every day: In the cup game between the two Belgian first division teams KV Mechelen and KRC Genk, a fan had to step in as a linesman without further ado. How did that work? Here's the strange story.

Suggestions

Comments (0)