8 October 1995, Edgley Stadium.

Because it is the sixth tier of the English league, the audience is not very large, only more than 2,000 people. Compared to the Premier League, or even League One, a league with tens of thousands of attendance, it can't be compared at all. It's not a one-level competition.

It's small, but it's a huge step forward for Jack. Because at the age of twenty, Jack made his first real appearance in a game under the jurisdiction of the FA. From this game onwards, everything about Jack is a seniority and will become a future seniority.

To be honest, the presence of assistant referees is very low, not ordinary. For the fans, even the referee doesn't pay much attention, let alone an assistant referee. In addition, Jack is also the lowest-ranking second assistant referee in the refereeing team.

In the Premier League or even in international matches, the referee's name may be mentioned. But the name of the assistant referee, no one cares, and there will be no reporters to report it.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Taylor."

Among the two thousand fans, there are two people who are very special. They are not fans of the home team Stoke Harbour FC or the away team Kittening FC. They came here today to see an assistant referee perform.

One is Jack's father, and the other is Jack's teacher, Jack Taylor.

"No, Mr. Lee. Little Jack is very talented, he is a natural referee. As long as he has enough experience, he will be the best referee. ”

Jack Taylor doesn't dare to say how many referees he has trained, but there are not one or two referees who have been recommended by him. Some of these referees are level-headed, some are tough, and some are decisive, but no one can compare to Jack in terms of talent. Just being able to accurately judge offside and fake falls, which gives all referees a headache, is Jack's greatest talent.

"The best referee doesn't have the luxury of expecting it, and I will be satisfied if I can enforce the Premier League in the future."

"Don't worry, it's a matter of a few years."

Jack Taylor is confident. If you only have the support of Jack Taylor, but you don't have the strength, you can mix in the lower leagues. Jack Taylor still has such a face.

But Jack doesn't just have the support of Jack Taylor, it's more about his own talent. If you have talent and someone to support you in the back, then you can definitely go far.

When the two men were talking, the referee had already begun to shake hands with the players on both sides. At this time, Jack deeply felt the drinking culture of English football, and more than half of the players who were going to play were drinking. Although he is not as drunk as Chris Claire, he can still smell the wine one by one. Drinking before the game, it's a really crazy bunch.

Jack's first trip to refereeing did not feel very new, but instead frowned deeply. I really didn't expect that English football would be so chaotic right now. For Chris Claire is even more contemptuous.

As the second assistant referee, Jack ran to his position. Because of the scarcity of fans, not only did there be no bench behind Jack, but there were also few fans present.

"Whew-"

Jack kept taking deep breaths, just to keep himself from being nervous. At school, as an FA registered referee, Jack officiated in internal university competitions.

But those games are not at the same level as the current ones. Competitions within schools or even between universities have little effect on the FA's side. The FA is interested in your performance at all levels of the league.

So today's game is an important step for Jack.

"It's a little rusty."

Jack's father looked at it for a while, although he didn't understand it very well, but he could also see that Jack's method was very rusty. In particular, the judgment is not fast, and although it is an accurate judgment every time, the movement is a little slow.

Just like some touchline balls, as a linesman, you should be the first to indicate which side touched it. Jack's judgment was correct, but a little slowly. Although it does not hinder the judgment of the game, it is so slow that a few tenths of a second, which makes people feel a little pause when watching.

"It's the first time after all. With more experience, this is not a problem. ”

Jack Taylor also found out. But that's not a problem, after all, Jack is appearing in the regular league for the first time. Although there were some rusts, there were no problems, which was enough to satisfy Jack Taylor.

"It's ugly!"

After more than twenty minutes, Jack was slowly getting acquainted with his work. It's hard to say that the job of a linesman is difficult, but it's easy to say. Especially in a low-level game like this, where the ball just flies in the air, the game looks hilarious, but it's actually very ugly.

For Jack, the most is the judgment of the sideline ball. As long as Jack can accurately determine which side touched it. Or judge some corners to the problem.

So Jack's performance is getting better.

"Krainey, long pass...... Saip's header, White is in an offside position, White shoots! ”

“gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooal！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！”

Lower-level leagues like the Northern League are not broadcast on television. Of course, if there is only one club in a certain area, and there are many fans, maybe the local TV station will broadcast it.

Obviously, the Stoke Harbour game was not broadcast on TV, but there was a live commentator. Of course, Stoke Harbor is a small club, and it has been mixed up in the lower leagues all year round, and the annual expenditure is 100,000 or 200,000 pounds, and there is no money to invite live commentators. As a result, the current live commentators are fans of the Stoke Harbor Club who came on a voluntary basis. It's free, no money.

Shout out with joy to see Stoke Harbor score. However, instead of celebrating, the Stoke Harbor players looked at Jack on the wing in confusion. Because Jack held up the flag in his hand, it meant that it was an offside ball. Kittening's players were very happy.

"Toot-"

At this time, Chris Claire blew the whistle in his hand to indicate that the goal was valid. The role of the linesman is only to remind the referee, and the specific decision is still in the hands of the referee.

Kittening's players quit and immediately ran to the referee to protest. Then he pointed to Jack on the side, as Jack was still holding the flag there, indicating that it was offside.

Originally, according to the rules at this time, Chris Claire, the referee, said that the goal was valid, so Jack should immediately put down the flag and run near the halfway line. Because the assistant referee has to unconditionally support the referee's decision.

But Jack was not satisfied with the referee. Drunk, and Jack was 100% sure it was offside, so he didn't drop the flag, but continued to hold it.

"What's the matter with you kid?"

Chris Claire came to Jack drunkenly and asked Jack very unceremoniously. Jack despised the referee in his heart, but he also admired the referee very much. It's not easy to drink to this extent, and still be able to enforce the game and run.

In response to Chris Claire's question, Jack replied in the affirmative: "When Stoke Harbor's No.9 headed the ball, their No.12 protruded half of his body. It's offside, it's a clear offside. ”

"Huh."

Chris Claire heard Jack's answer, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, and he sneered: "Offside? Hey, little bit, you also know what an offside position is. I'm telling you, don't think you're really great because you're a judge. When I say a goal is valid, I mean a goal is valid. Stay on my side, you idiot. ”

On the field, the referee is the absolute authority. Including the fourth referee and the two assistant referees are only auxiliary to the referee, and any final decision belongs to the referee. Jack understood this in class.

But Jack's temper is not very good, otherwise he would not have fought every day since he was a child. Originally, Jack wanted to give Chris Claire face, after all, it was just an offside. Why bother with the referee.

But seeing Chris Claire with no one in his eyes, Jack couldn't help it. So he shot back: "I've done a lot of game analysis since I studied refereeing. Never missed an offside judgment. But Mr. Referee, you've drunk so much wine, I doubt you'll be able to see where the ball is. ”

"What?"

Chris Claire didn't like Jack because he was too young. If he hadn't been drinking, he wouldn't have had any trouble with Jack. After all, being able to come to the Northern League as an assistant referee at such a young age is either the target of the FA's key training, or there is a way to do it.

But today he was drinking, and with the law enforcement competition, his head was already in a state of excitement. Hearing Jack's unceremonious answer, he was furious and said, "Boy, don't think it's great to be an assistant referee. I'm the referee here, and what I say is what. Shit, how can I have an idiot assistant referee like you. ”

"I don't want to serve a junk drunkard like you yet."

"Okay, you kid has a kind."

Chris Claire laughed angrily and kept touching his pockets. Finally, he pulled something out of his top right pocket and held it high for Jack.