A League Two match ended up getting stopped for around five minutes with police involved in an incident during the encounter on Tuesday.
Mansfield Town made light of what happened when tweeting about what took place at the One Call Stadium in the game against Scunthorpe United.
On the 12th minute, the Stags wrote: “The game has been stopped as there’s a drone being flown overhead.
“Don’t get this in the Super League…”
12′ | #Stags 0-0 Scunthorpe
The game has been stopped as there’s a drone being flown overhead.
Don’t get this in the Super League…
— Mansfield Town FC (@mansfieldtownfc) April 20, 2021
A man ended up being was seen to, dealt with and cautioned after getting a visit from police officers due to being in control of a low-flying drone.
Police were able to locate where it landed and speak to the pilot, who was cautioned. The drone was also seized by police.
Mansfield Town’s dedicated football officer, Police Constable John Albanese, said the drone was seen landing in a garden by ground security staff and police located the drone and pilot in Bishop Street, near the stadium.
He said: “A man was spoken to and cautioned.
“He stated he didn’t possess a licence or certificate to fly drones and officers seized the device.”
Officers also issued a warning to people looking to record footage at future sporting events and to abide by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) rules.
PC Albanese said: “The rules set by the CAA apply in the UK and it doesn’t matter if you are a professional or hobbyist, you must have passed their online theory test and obtained your Flyer ID.
“Also as the owner or operator of a drone, you must register with the CAA for an Operator ID which is renewed every 12 months.
“As a general rule you must keep a minimum horizontal distance of 50m between your drone and people and keep at least 150m away from residential, recreational, commercial and industrial areas.
“Drones are continuously evolving and when operated correctly can be a valuable resource to agencies involved in law enforcement, search and rescue, agriculture and photography to name just a few.
“With technology advancing and the cost of these devices falling they are becoming more popular with hobbyists, however, before you go out and fly your drone, we ask that you make yourselves aware of the CAA regulations.
“Clearly we appreciate these devices can be fun and are great at capturing some fantastic images and footage, however, when public safety is compromised we have to take action.
“The match official has directions from the Football Association and protocols are in place for such incidents and despite supporters not being present within the stadium, the drone could easily fall from the sky and injure a player, official or staff member.”
Nigel Clough’s Stags side ran out 3-0 winners, which ensured the club’s League Two survival.
“It is only cause for a minor celebration as it’s not the extent of our aspirations or ambition,” he said.
“But it’s nice to do it with three games to go and we’re not sweating going into the final two weeks of the season.
“You have to survive to be able to build for next season.
“I feel relieved we’ve got the job done, but it shouldn’t have taken this long.
“It was important we lost so few games, though we didn’t win enough – but we should have done.
“I think you saw that belief from the players tonight. We controlled it from start to finish which was brilliant.
“The only disappointing thing was it was only 1-0 for so long. We could have scored five or six tonight.
“It was a good, solid team, job. Everyone played well and did their jobs.
“The confidence and relief from Saturday’s result (1-0 win at Stevenage) saw us go out and enjoy it tonight.”
Scunthorpe are still not mathematically safe and manager Neil Cox said: “We are fighting for our lives and there is a lot of nervousness as we have to get results.
“I told them it’s about what we do, let’s not worry about others. But you can tell a lot of these young boys are nervous about what’s going on.
“They are not finding it easy. But you have to stand up and be counted. That’s what football is about. It’s not all about the good times. There are difficult times when you’ve got to stick in.
“At the minute as a football club we’re having a difficult time as we’re not getting results. But I will stick in there and keep fighting and that’s what they have got to do.
“Some of the boys are not ready for massive challenges and their bodies won’t let them do that.
“Tonight was an opportunity to have a good go. Don’t get me wrong, Mansfield are a good side and they will be pushing to get promotion next year. They just went for us a bit more and we didn’t have the legs tonight.”
Fans reacted as the League Two match was stopped for five minutes with police involved in the incident…
@adamxjw: Wadmin
@MtfcAlfie_: Never change
@MtfcAoka: far more entertaining than the super league
@ColinParry17: Real Madrid watching stags style of play
@Joga5: Mansfield Town game stopped due to a drone flying close to the ground. Not sure why anyone would want to film it the way we are playing this season 🤣
@RobJone12912767: This is stupid
@TomMTFC: Bizzare refereeing, if what Martin says was true then no reason to stop the game for so long
@NathanEdge94: Was thinking about this. If it really was as far away as it appeared to commentary, then I’m pretty sure the referee wouldn’t have even been aware of it to stop the game in the first place. So it probably was closer. Still annoying though
@alex_scunny: A drone invading a massive L2 game between 18th placed Mansfield and 20th placed Scunthorpe
@Chriswills0194: That’s great
@Ben_Mattin1: My club 😂😂
@BrownI77x: Only in Mansfield
Coming soon https://t.co/OOPtPaOPCz pic.twitter.com/R0x4fiLOC4
— FMC.🏴 (@FCornell29) April 20, 2021
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