Leicester City‘s Premier League clash with Southampton was held up for 11 minutes after referee David Webb was forced out of the game after being injured in a collision with Foxes forward Jordan Ayew.
With Leicester leading 1-0 after taking a 17th-minute lead through Jamie Vardy‘s 199th goal for the club, the game was halted in the 21st minute after Webb, who was taking charge of the first Premier League match of his career, was knocked to the ground in an accidental collision with Ayew.
While Webb was lying on the pitch, Vardy crouched beside him and blew the whistle that was still in the stricken referee’s hand.
Vardy then walked away from Webb as the seriousness of the referee’s injury prompted concern among players who called for medical treatment to help the official.
“I saw Southampton breaking down the left and with the ref down I thought I’ll blow his whistle to stop the game,” Vardy told BBC Sport.
After five minutes of treatment on the pitch, Webb appeared unsteady as he returned to his feet but was able to walk off the pitch before heading to the dressing room for further treatment.
He was replaced by fourth official Sam Barrott, who restarted the game between the two already-relegated teams after the 11-minute delay.
Ayew recovered to score Leicester’s second as they earned all three points at the King Power Stadium.
“I felt sorry for the ref,” Leicester head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy told a pos-tmatch news conference. “He hit a brick wall called Jordan Ayew, and that ‘s not easy. Vardy blew the whistle to help him out. I hope he’s OK.
“We had to wait for 12 minutes, warm up and then start again, but I have not seen a body check like that for a long time.”