Rawwk! Polly Want a Red Card?

A rare parrot had to be thrown out of a British football match when he began imitating the referee’s whistle, the Daily Mail reports. The parrot’s call was so realistic it actually stopped play dead 10 minutes into the second half, and continued disrupting the game thereafter. The cheeky bird also shouted “pretty boy” at some of the players.

“I’ve sent a few people off in my time,” said the ref, “but I’ve never sent a parrot off before.” At first the referee thought the noises were being made by the bird’s owner. “When I confronted her she said, ‘It’s not me, it’s my parrot.’ I got a hell of a shock.” The woman left peacefully, but vowed that the bird would be back. “He loves his football,” she said. (More soccer stories.)