VAR was temporarily axed during Tottenham’s clash with Nottingham Forest after a fire alarm at Stockley Park.
Referee John Brooks and assistant Dan Robathan were forced to flee the officials hub at half-time.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side went in at the break 2-0 up after goals by Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood.
And by the time the second 45 minutes begun, the refs were still unable to return to the building in West London.
A brief Premier League statement confirmed the news, which read: “The match will be operating without VAR until further notice due to a fire alarm at the VAR Hub at Stockley Park.”
Technology was out of use for around eight minutes in second-half before things returned to normal.
A second Prem tweet said: “VAR is now back up and running”.
The system was fortunately not called upon while it was out of action.
But fans found the situation hilarious, with one saying: “We had freedom for about one minute.”
Another added: “Whoever set the fire alarm off deserves a raise.”
A third laughed: “Quick, someone go break the emergency glass again.”
By the time of the fire alarm, VAR’s new semi-automated offside technology had already been used at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Wood had headed the ball into the back of the net but the goal was chalked off as the Forest striker went too early.
Yet it took him just seven minutes to score a goal that did stand after heading home an Anthony Elanga cross.
