Referee Chris Foy replaced after taking a hit to the face during Premier League clash between Newcastle and Swansea

There have been some bizzare incidents on the football pitch over the years but it’d be quite hard to find something that tops what happened in the Premier League game between Newcastle and Swansea at St.James Park.

Swansea’s Jonjo Shelvey unleashed a powerful strike which rebounded off of Newcastle defender Fabricio Coloccini’s leg and hit referee Chris Foy flush in the face.

Foy went down due to the sheer force with which the ball hit him and got back a couple of moments later even as the players ran to check if the referee was doing alright.

Although Foy tried to continue officiating the game, he was replaced by fourth official Anthony Taylor just a few minutes later.

Here’s how twitter reacted to the incident.

DAZED AND CONFUSED: Chris Foy hit in the face by a deflected clearance. https://t.co/c4JqlcN2uh

— Eurosport.com EN (@EurosportCom_EN) April 19, 2014

2: Brief stoppage in play early on here after referee Chris Foy takes a ball in the face from a deflection. [0-0]

— Swansea City FC (@SwansOfficial) April 19, 2014

Referee Chris Foy surrounded by concerned players after ball ricochets into his face during @NUFC v @SwansOfficial pic.twitter.com/z3M2eQdoil

— North News (@northnews) April 19, 2014