Brentford v Wolves stopped for 20 minutes after drone flies over stadium during Premier League match
Brentford and Wolves were forced off the field of play for nearly 20 minutes during their Premier League clash after a drone caused the brief suspension of Saturday's game.
The Bees and their visitors were roughly half an hour into their game at Brentford Community Stadium when the unauthorised craft was spotted above the field of play.
Referee Peter Bankes was forced to remove both sides from the field of play, although play was able to resume 16 minutes later with the score at 0-0.
What happened?
Well that’s a first for me
— Nathan Judah (@NathanJudah) January 22, 2022
Drone stopped play 🥴#wwfc pic.twitter.com/dIp0uKr2gs
In accordance with Premier League rules, the game had to be paused when the unknown drone was seen above the pitch in order to ensure the safety of the players.
The match was subsequently resumed after a lengthy delay, with 19 minutes of time added.
There had already been a previous lengthy stoppage for a clash of heads between Brentford duo Mathias Jensen and Rico Henry, which saw both players substituted shortly before the game was brought to a halt.
Play has been halted due to a drone above the stadium
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) January 22, 2022
The teams are heading back into the tunnel
🐝 0-0 🐺 #BrentfordFC #BREWOL pic.twitter.com/rZ0iCuBF0L
𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘿𝙍𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝙄𝙎 𝘿𝙊𝙒𝙉
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) January 22, 2022
The players are back out for a short warm-up and we're getting ready to resume
🐝 0-0 🐺 #BrentfordFC #BREWOL
The game was stopped in the 28th minute, and restarted after the drone flew away before the operator could be located or identified.
Premier League rules state that any unauthorised drone around a stadium during a game obliges the players to leave the pitch for safety reasons.
The reasoning is that an unidentified drone could pose a terror threat, as well as being a possible attempt to broadcast live footage illegally.
As it was the game, between sides who started the day 14th and eighth in the Premier League, was eventually able to restart after one of the more bizarre incidents seen this season.