A football match was called off after just 58 seconds when the referee realised he could not see his linesmen due to intense fog . The top-of-the-table clash between St Austell and Bodmin in Cornwall on Wednesday had already been delayed due to poor weather when referee Neil Hunnisett decided to get on with the game . But it was called off less than a minute later , making it one of the shortest games in football history . A top-of-the-table clash between St Austell and Bodmin in Cornwall on Wednesday had to be called off after just 58 seconds due to intense fog which blanketed the pitch . Referee Neil Hunnisett had already been forced to delay the game due to the poor weather , and was keen to get on with the Carlsberg South-West Peninsula match , but eventually had to concede defeat . Local league official Mike Sampson said : 'When we arrived in St Austell it was hard to see out of the windows . I had to put my glasses on to eat my pasty . ' He added : 'We only knew the game had kicked off because the whistle went . The linesman put his flag up and it took the referee 58 seconds to see him . ' Home team St Austell said they would refund all 150 fans who turned out for South West Peninsula League game . Mr Hunnisett defended his decision to start the game and claimed : ' I 've officiated in worse . I wanted to see if the fog would clear . ' He told BBC Radio Cornwall : ' I could have called the game off when I got to the ground . 'My two assistants and assessor went along with my decision to start . However , just prior to kick-off it was very apparent I had probably made the wrong decision . Spot the players : Concealed somewhere in this image are the match officials and starting 11 players from both teams lined up shortly before the kickoff . Mr Hunnisett was forced to end the game when he realised he could n't see his linesmen , making it one of the shortest games in football history . 'Do I feel bad ? Of course I do . I was looking forward to this game as it 's a big appointment and I am aware that St Austell have a bottleneck of fixtures too . ' Mr. Sampson added : 'The fans were very good about it . St Austell refunded all their money and everybody was very good about it . 'It was a very important game in the league . 'St Austell 's games are piling up , they 'll be playing three or four times a week come the end of the season , so to be fair to the referee he tried everything he could to get it on . ' Local league official Mike Sampson , who came to watch the match from the touchline , said he only knew the game had started after hearing the referee 's whistle as he could n't see the centre circle . This game is not the quickest to be called off , as a 1998 World Cup qualifier between Scotland and Estonia finished after three seconds when the Estonian team boycotted in a row over floodlights . St Austell , who are through to the semi-finals of the FA Vase , are fourth in the league and have eight games in hand on leaders Saltash United , who are 13 points ahead . The game is expected to be rearranged in April . However this game was not the quickest-ever to be called off . A 1998 World Cup qualifier between Estonia and Scotland was abandoned after three seconds . The Estonia team boycotted the game due to a dispute over the floodlights at the Kadrioru Stadium in Tallinn .
Game between St Austell and Mike Sampson was already delayed due to weather . Referee tried to start match but had to stop after failing to see linesman . Spectators said they only knew game had started due to ref 's whistle .