The start of the second half of Chelsea's 2-1 victory over Leicester City was delayed as two referees were forced to change their roles.
Nick Hopton and Mark Scholes started the game running the lines at the King Power Stadium, with Andy Madley as the man in the middle and Leigh Doughty operating as the fourth official.
However, there was a slight change in the officiating lineup once the referees and teams emerged for the second half.
“Lee Doughty runs down the line on the other side, the fourth official,” talkSPORT commentator Sam Matterface said.
“The change is due to the injury of Mark Scholes. Preparing to run the line in the Premier League.
“It's not something I'm used to, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.”
Unfortunately for Doughty, he got a crucial decision wrong and was rescued by VAR official Paul Tierney in second-half stoppage time.
Leicester striker Bobby De Cordova-Reid was brought down by Chelsea's Romeo Lavia inside the area and it appeared to be a foul, only for Madley to blow his whistle to signal offside as Doughty had raised his flag.
But replays soon showed De Cordova-Reid was comfortably in play and prompted Tierney to intervene.
After being informed that De-Cordova Reid was on, Madley pointed to the spot and Jordan Ayew stepped up to score a late consolation for the Foxes.
The first half was certainly a busy affair for the referees as Leicester looked to physically overwhelm Chelsea.
However, Foxes midfielder Wilfred Ndidi was quite lucky not to be sent off for an unpleasant challenge about Chelsea superstar Cole Palmer.
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Madley showed Ndidi a yellow card, but replays showed the Nigerian had caught Palmer in the Achilles tendon with his studs.
VAR reviewed the incident but decided not to overturn Madley's original decision of a yellow card while play continued.
Ndidi is understood to have avoided further punishment because the VAR judged the challenge lacked intensity and the Leicester man came from close range.
However, former England international Darren Bent was left in disbelief. Ndidi did not receive his marching orders.
“It's horrible,” Bent said on talkSPORT commentary.
“There is intention there. The ball is nowhere to be seen.
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“I'm a little surprised they're not going to check it. Is it endangering the opponent? Yes.
“The fact that the referee is not controlling is a bit bad. He got away with it.”
Ndidi was not the only Leicester player to get into Madley's book during the first 45 minutes.
Boubakary Soumare and Oliver Skipp, who came on in the first half to replace the injured Harry Winks, also received yellow cards.
Chelsea midfielder Moisés Caicedo also received a yellow card in the 40th minute for dissent.
Madley did not draw a card in the second half until the 66th minute, when he booked Blues goalkeeper Robert Sánchez for wasting time.
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Leicester manager Steve Cooper even ended up in Madley's book two minutes after Sánchez.
Foxes defender Wout Faes was booked for a reckless challenge on Caicedo, but Lavia received the final yellow card of the day when he brought down De Cordova-Reid in the area in second-half stoppage time.
Chelsea's victory keeps them in third place with 22 points, although Arsenal, Nottingham Forest and Brighton could all tie with wins.
As for Leicester, Steve Cooper's team are in 16th place, but could drop to the relegation zone if Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace beat Manchester United and Aston Villa respectively.
