THEY have earnt a reputation as some of the best virtual football gamers in the world.

But this experience was thrown out of the window as 22 YouTubers took to the St Mary’s Stadium pitch for a match in the name of charity.

The stadium was crammed with 15,000 supporters cheering on their favourite online stars and was also watched by more than 600,000 people on YouTube ­– the biggest ever live event on YouTube Gaming.

Sidemen FC v YouTube Allstars raised more than £100,000 for the Saints Foundation.

However, despite being better with their thumbs rather than their feet, the game was far from dull.

The match finished 7-2 to Sidemen FC, who led 2-0 at half-time. A surge of goals in the second half included a stunning long range strike from the half way line.

The 11-a-side match, which was also raising funds for SpecialEffect, featured FIFA gaming stars KSI and Miniminter and also grime legend and Boy Better Know member JME.

The Sidemen, who provide video game commentaries and vlogs on a variety of social media platforms, have a large following of support, with their combined following on YouTube at over 37 million people.