It is bizarre but true, that a referee ruled out a late goal after using a mobile phone to review an incident during a second division match in Egypt on Friday.

With the video assistant referee (VAR) system not in operation in second-tier games, referee Mohamed Farouk had to use the phone of a spectator.

Al-Nasr had thought during their match against hosts Suez that they had scored a late equaliser, but the hosts protested that a handball offence had been committed.

After a long time spent reviewing the video on the phone, the referee decided to rule out the goal.

Fifteen minutes of stoppage time were added and Suez won the game 3-1.

The referee left the pitch under police protection, amid protests from Al-Nasr players and officials, who threatened to take legal action against the referee for “violating the regulations”. (Reuters/NAN)