Halfway through the first half of Tokyo vs Oita Trinita, one of the assistant referees threw his flag up into the air in the process of signalling for offside.

Mid-table Oita Trinita came away with a 3-2 win at Tokyo after a flurry of late goals in their Ajinomoto Stadium in Chofu on Wednesday night.

Flagging for an offside offence against the Oita Trinita forward line in the 22nd minute while the game was still goalless, the Japanese official seemingly lost control of his implement.

The flag was sent hurtling up into the air before being impressively caught with both hands by the assistant referee, who had to step onto the pitch but then professionally carried on with his duties in the J1 League clash.