REFEREE Matt Donohue stunned fans by disappearing for three minutes during the Championship clash between Norwich and Sheffield Wednesday.
The match official raced down the tunnel shortly before the hour mark after appearing to suffer an equipment malfunction.
Supporters could be heard singing "Where the f***'s the referee!" during the pause in play.
After three minutes, Donohue returned to the pitch at Carrow Road to ironic cheers from the crowd.
He was also reportedly met with chants of "he's had a s*** from supporters.
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Reacting to the incident on social media, one fan wrote: "Farce at Norwich. Game held up due to a failure of referee's ear piece. Embarrassed ref has run off the field into the tunnel."
Norwich later confirmed on X, formerly Twitter, that Donohue had left the field to have his radio replaced.
Wednesday's match was his 14th of the season and 12th in the Championship this term.
Donohue previously officiated Wednesday's home draw with Huddersfield in October and their loss at Hull on matchday two.
Norwich had been leading 2-1 at the time through goals from Borja Sainz and Ashley Barnes either side of Bailey Cadamarteri's equaliser.
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Jonathan Rowe made it 3-1 to the Canaries after the match restarted to add to the struggling visitors' woes.
Norwich are now up to 11th in the Championship with the win, whilst Wednesday sit eight points adrift of safety in 23rd.
