STUNNED fans looked on as a PARROT was sent off at a football match - because it kept imitating the referee's whistle.

STUNNED fans looked on as a PARROT was sent off at a football match - because it kept imitating the referee's whistle.

The barmy bird and its woman owner ended up sick as parrots rather than over the moon as feathers flew at the action-packed quarter-final cup tie.

The seven-goal shoot-out between Hatfield Town and Hertford Heath was plunged into chaos when the squawking bright green parrot went crackers on the touchline.

The exotic gatecrasher turned the match into a stop-start nightmare as players thought the ref was repeatedly blowing up.

The multi-coloured feathered football fiend had turned heads before kick-off at the packed-out non-league cup clash arriving in a cage with a mystery woman fan.

The parrot behaved itself for the first-half watching play swing from end to end.

But 10 minutes into the second-half the crazed bird started mimicking the ref's whistle - triggering mass confusion on and off the pitch.

Furious whistler Gary Bailey saw red and promptly despatched the screeching supporter to the stands.

Ref Gary said: “I've never known anything like it in my football career!

"It was a big game and there were quite a lot of people there.

“This woman was standing right by the touchline and suddenly unveiled a big cage with this big green parrot in it.

“I didn't mind at first. But then every time I blew my whistle the bird made exactly the same sound.

“The players all stopped so I had to ask her to move the parrot.”

The experienced official added: “It was bizarre.

"The crowd were all laughing.

"Looking back I should have made far more of it and got out my red card to show to the parrot!”

Hatfield Town chairman Ted Collie said: “I suppose if you can take a dog to the ground you can take your pet parrot!

“We suddenly started hearing two whistles. The players were stopping and starting and then the ref realised that it was this parrot by the touchline."

He added: “He very politely asked the woman if she could move the parrot away from the ground.

“I've never seen anything like that before. If I hadn't been there I would never have believed it.”

High-flying Hatfield Town swooped into the semi-final of the Hertfordshire Senior Centenary Trophy beating Hertford Heath 5-2 after extra-time.