FOOTBALLERS abandoned a game when red cards got dished out for no reason — from a TV prankster referee.
The Sunday league match descended into chaos when four players were sent off within minutes.
Lads from Bow Badgers and Limehouse Tigres stormed off and refused to carry on at the famous Hackney Marshes in East London.
They were then told Norwegian Mads Hansen was only pretending to be a bad ref for his TV show.
Mads hoodwinked the players when he turned up on Sunday with a brand new kit, two linesmen and GoPro camera.
He told the players he was on a “referee exchange” after roping both coaches into the plan.
He then proceeded to hand out eight cards, including four reds, to mounting disbelief.
Mads explained: “We wanted to help the real unsung heroes, the amateur refs.
“So we decided to be as terrible refs as absolutely possible — so the players would miss the real refs. I think we succeeded. They told us we’d ruined their day.”
The Hackney and Leyton League Division 3 match was then played with a real ref, and Limehouse won 3-2.
A Bow Badgers spokesman said: “It was the first time a Badger player has scored a goal after being sent off.”
The prank will air on Mads’ TV show, Dommerjaevel.
Referee Mads Hansen was only pretending to be a bad ref for his TV show[/caption]
