Mike Jones was due to referee the match between Tottenham and Huddersfield on Saturday afternoon but injured himself in the warm-up at Wembley.
Fourth official Kevin Friend took Jones' place in the middle but the match officials still scrambled to find a qualified referee to assist.
A tannoy announcement was made to the Wembley crowd requesting that any suitably qualified personnel make themselves known to the nearest steward.
In another twist of events, a second tannoy announcement declared: "Thank you for your assistance.