Referee goes viral for his hilarious ‘Forrest Gump’ sprint during Luton 4-0 Preston

Stephen Martin is a referee many casual fans of English football will not know of.

That’s because he’s yet to take charge of a Premier League match in 2021/22. Instead, he operates in the country’s lower leagues, mainly the Championship.

So far this season, Martin has refereed 17 games in England‘s second-tier, with the latest being Luton Town’s impressive 4-0 home win over Preston North End.

A brace from Luke Berry, a strike from Fred Onyedinma and an own goal from Bambo Diaby secured victory for Nathan Jones’ promotion-chasing side.

But despite the fact Luton won 4-0 on their home patch, a member of the the Hatters’ squad didn’t produce the highlight of the match.

No, that came courtesy of Martin, who decided to embody movie character Forrest Gump in second half stoppage-time.

After the referee had put the ball down next to Preston goalkeeper Daniel Iversen for a free-kick, he opted to sprint as fast as he could to get into position near the middle of the pitch.

While the run was completely unnecessary – and hilarious – Martin did show a serious turn of pace that quite a few players would be dead proud of.

Check out the footage below…

pic.twitter.com/sWidke5HSZ

“And the referee, running down the field, for no apparent reason,” the commentator says, which only adds to the bizarre – yet brilliant – moment that occured at Kenilworth Road on Wednesday evening.

Martin, you’re an absolute legend in our eyes.

Luton’s latest win means they sit fifth in the Championship table ahead of their trip to Hull on Saturday afternoon.

The Hatters need to win that match, as they’re just one point ahead of QPR and Middlesbrough in sixth and seventh.

High-flying Nottingham Forest trail Luton by just two points as well and the battle for