A referee had his hands full as he brandished six red cards during a

fiery Oceania Champions League match that ended 4-3 and saw nine minutes

of stoppage time.

The clash on Monday between Samoa’s Kiwi FC and Nadi FA of Fiji

followed a match earlier in the day between Magenta of New Caledonia and

Tefana from Tahiti in which three players were sent off.

Anish Khem was the hero for the Fijian team, scoring all four goals.

It was a routine game until the 44th minute when a player from each

side was given his marching orders by referee George Time from the

Solomon Islands for their part in a fracas, with Kiwi FC leading 3-1,

the Oceania Football Confederation said on their website.

There was little further drama until an  81st-minute melee resulted

in another double sending-off — Nadi goalkeeper Vereti Dickson and Kiwi

FC’s Lionel Taylor were both banished by referee Time. 

Nadi then pulled a goal back on 87 minutes before there was another

sending-off seconds later when Kiwi substitute Lawrie Letutusa saw red. 

Because of all the interruptions, nine minutes of time were added which saw two more Nadi goals and another dismissal.

Khem completed his hat-trick in the sixth minute of stoppage time to

level the scores and made it a four-goal haul with a 98th-minute winner.

In between, Nadi’s Napolioni Qasevakatini was ordered off, leaving both sides with just eight players.

Nadi coach Kamal Swamy said he didn’t know what to make of it all.

“We lacked discipline today which made the game very difficult for

the remaining players on the field,” he said. “The discipline of some of

the players let us down.”

While six red cards in one match is highly unusual, the world record

in a single game is reportedly 36, when the official dismissed all the

players, substitutes and coaches in an Argentinian fifth-tier game in

2011, British media reported at the time.