MIDFIELDER Steve Brown said it was payback time as he whipped off his shirt in front of referee Steve Bennett last Saturday.

The whistler sent him off for stripping off his top in Blues FA Cup semi-final at Leicester City two years ago to reveal the name of his ill son Maxwell as he celebrated Roy Essandoh's late winner.

But this time Brown had the law on his side as he flashed a white vest sporting his name and number to celebrate crashing home Blues' fourth minute penalty during the 1-1 draw with Cheltenham.

His dismissal at Filbert Street two years ago forced the FA to change the rules regarding goal celebrations and it is now longer an offence to take your shirt off.

Brown said: "As soon as I saw who the ref was on Saturday I decided it was payback time.

"It was a nice moment and I knew I had the law on my side this time."

But Brown insists he has never held his Filbert Street red card against Bennett.

He said: "He had the law on his side at Leicester and he was just carrying it out to the letter. It didn't sour my day at all and I don't hold it against him.

"I had totally forgotten about my sending off by 5pm. It was only over the next couple of days when the papers made such a big thing of it that it became an issue. The referee became public enemy number one and I was worried because I didn't want my sending off to overshadow what the club did."

Meanwhile Brown says his whole career flashed in front of him when he was caught by Neil Brisco's two-footed horror challenge during Monday's 1-1 draw at Port Vale.

Brown said: "I thought he was going to end my career. My whole career flashed in front of me. It was a coward's tackle and as a professional he should have known better.

"When he jumped in at me, I just had to shut my eyes and I feared the worst."

Brisco was sent off and will now get a three-match ban at the start of the season.