The BIZARRE reason Chris Wood was booked after the Nottingham Forest star netted a hat-trick for New Zealand in 7-0 thrashing of Fiji

Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood was handed a yellow card for signing autographs following his stunning display for New Zealand against Fiji on Friday.

The 33-year-old was booked after being taken off the pitch following a hat-trick of headers.

Footage spotted Wood heading into the crown rather than the reserve bench in order to give some autographs for several minutes but ended up facing a yellow card.

Although the Forest striker was already off the play and said he was 'just trying to do something nice and sign for the fans', rules prohibit football players from entering the stands without permission.

A breach of the FIFA regulation must be cautioned - as it did in Wood's case - and could even result in a game stoppage if the player does not return as soon as possible.

His national side are just one win from making a third World Cup ahead of their clash against New Caledonia in the final of Oceania in Auckland on Monday.

Chris Wood received a yellow card for signing autographs during New Zealand's game against Fiji

The Nottigham Forest striker was subbed off to a standing ovation and went to the stand to mix with fans

The incident came after Wood scored a spectacular hat-trick of headers in a 7-0 humiliation

The All Whites missed out missed out on the past three World Cups with defeats in intercontinental playoffs.

With captain Wood on song and world number 152 New Caledonia dominated by amateur players, the All Whites should have little trouble at Eden Park on Monday.

'We know how good New Caledonia are and we're going to have to be ready for them,' said the Forest striker after the final whistle.

'They've done a very good game this afternoon and we know they're going to cause us problems. We need to focus on doing recovery well now and be ready to go Monday.'

Wood scored his second consecutive hat-trick in World Cup qualifying, having put three goals past Samoa in the 8-0 win last November.

Against 148th-ranked Fiji, he latched onto a cross from Sarpreet Singh to nod New Zealand in front after six minutes and thumped in the other two goals in a five-minute burst before the hour-mark.

He was promptly subbed off to a standing ovation from the crowd of 21,000 and went up to the terraces to mix with fans as the game went on.

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