A WOLVES fan has gone "global" after being "plucked out of the crowd" to officiate an FA Cup tie.
Ross Bennett, from Kidderminster, has spoken of the "crazy" moment he found himself officiating the cup clash between his club and Brentford this week.
The 33-year-old plumbing and heating engineer, who is a Wolves season ticket holder, filled in for an assistant who suffered an injury as the match went into extra time.
Mr Bennett, who has refereed youth games, was given a crash course in using the substitutes board and was also "mic'd up to VAR."
He was attending the match with his 11-year-old son Tyler, who got to watch his dad take on the surprise role.
Mr Bennett said: "To get plucked out of the crowd is just crazy. I have never seen anything like that happen".
Some big performances tonight including from season ticket holder Ross who stepped up to be fourth official for extra time after an injury to one of the assistants 👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/4UON3djDpQ
— Tom Warren (@TomWarren01) January 16, 2024
Wolves scored a goal in extra time to win the game 3-2, but as a match official, Mr Bennett couldn't celebrate the goal.
Mr Bennett said: "We scored the goal and I couldn't celebrate which was a little bit gutting.
"I went down to the ref's room for some food and drink. It was good crack".
Since his call-up, Mr Bennett says he has been featured in newspaper articles around the world.
He also appeared on Talk Sport this week to chat about the one-in-a-lifetime experience. He said he was more nervous going on the radio than refereeing the match.
He added: "It's been crazy. I'm in the New York Times - Why am I in the New York Times?
"I did not expect it all to go global".
Wolverhampton Wanderers will now face rivals West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns in the next round of the cup on January 28, which Mr Bennett is set to attend.
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