"This is offside!"

"It's a fake fall!"

"It's not offside!"

At Sheffield United's home stadium, Jack will watch Sheffield United play with Jack Taylor whenever there is a Sheffield United home game for nearly three months.

Sheffield United at this time were in League One, having just been relegated from the Premier League last season and arrived in League One. Tickets aren't very expensive, and Jack can afford them. However, when playing games, Jack Taylor buys tickets, and the position of the tickets he buys is different every time.

Jack Taylor is not as wealthy as Jack's family. But Jack Taylor is not short of money. There is a good saying, the line is the champion. No matter what industry you are, as long as you can achieve the position of the boss, you will not worry about the problem of money.

Jack Taylor is one such person. When he was a referee, referees were paid less. But he has mixed into the position of the first referee in England, and even a famous referee in European football and world football, and is a star in the world football refereeing world.

After retiring, Jack Taylor did not work in the FA, UEFA or FIFA. But there is also a title of advisor and director in these institutions. Therefore, there is no shortage of income after retirement, and I don't even know how many referees want to worship Jack Taylor as their godfather, hoping that he can help.

Now 64-year-old Jack Taylor is still in the bloated organization of the FA, and he can still get a sum of money every day without doing anything. Life is not a problem at all. And occasionally open a referee training course, a training course can get tens of thousands of pounds of honorarium.

"Little Jack, our place is straight, how can you judge whether the more offside or not?"

In the past three months, Jack Taylor has been an eye-opener with Jack. No matter which direction he sits, Jack's judgment on offside balls and fake falls is amazing.

Every time Jack Taylor makes a mark, a judgment at such and such a moment. Then he went back to study the game himself, and every time he was amazed. Because whether it is sitting far, sitting close, sitting in a good position, or sitting in a bad position, Jack can accurately judge. It's just godly.

It's so godly that Jack Taylor doesn't even know what to say.

"I could see the two of them physically touching. Or I can draw a line with the last defender, and I can tell exactly if the attacking player is behind or in front of that line. It's a feeling, but I haven't missed it since I was a kid. ”

"Can you really feel that?"

"Yes."

"Okay, great."

Jack Taylor is really convinced. In the past three months, Jack has surprised Jack Taylor too much. The more he looks at Jack now, the more he likes it. This is really a rare referee, and he may be able to become the best referee in the world in the future.

"Jack, the results of your batch of candidates are out."

"Oh?"

"Your grades are good. Eighty-seven points is the best score among this batch of candidates. The FA has also approved the refereeing qualifications of your group of candidates. You are now a registered referee with the English Football Association. Congratulations. ”

"Thank you, teacher."

Jack was pleased. Although this time they got the referee qualification in their hands, it is still the lowest level of qualification. After passing this exam, Jack will be eligible to administer the international competition of the U11 (Under 11 level). It is the lowest level of refereeing in English and European football, and you can get paid two pounds for each such game.

"Little Jack, don't call me teacher. Unlike then, this is not popular. ”

"No, teacher. I've learned a lot from watching the games with you for the past three months. ”

After a month of shadowing Jack Taylor, Jack was already worshipping him as his teacher. This is someone reminding Jack that it is not easy to mix up in the English refereeing world, and there is no one on top of you.

And Jack Taylor is such a bullish character. Although he does not hold any real position on the FA's refereeing committee, he has a high status in the English refereeing community. At present, there are a lot of referees in England who are under his goal. Such a good opportunity, how could Jack give it up. And Jack Taylor also very much hopes to be able to accept a genius like Jack as his disciple.

Jack Taylor rejects Jack's apprenticeship, but he doesn't know how happy he is.

"Jack, these are your talents right now. It's really talent, amazing talent. All you need now is to feel the rhythm of the game and gain experience. ”

"I know."

Jack nodded. In order to be a good referee, Jack did a lot of homework. Referees are not like players, and many talented players are able to ignore age as long as they are talented. At the age of seventeen or eighteen, you can get a foothold in the Premier League, you can get a good salary, and you can have a reputation that matches it.

But the referee is different. Until now, there were strict boundaries for refereeing. Even some of the referees that the FA focuses on cultivating, they are all going up step by step. It wasn't until he was in his thirties that he was able to qualify for the Premier League.

The same goes for Jack. If you go step by step, it will take at least 10 years to enforce the Premier League, and even longer to become an international referee.

"What are you going to do during this time?"

"Teacher, I want to keep up the good work. Within a year or two, he passed the FIFA referee qualification, and during this time, he officiated some college games. ”

Jack Taylor was silent for a moment before he said slowly: "You want to win the FIFA referee qualification, I support this." Looking at the current trend in football is to become more and more professional and regularized, I estimate that in another ten or so years, when your group of referees take on important responsibilities, maybe the referees will also be professional. Since it is so early to get the referee certificate, it is also a good choice for you. The current FIFA referee qualification is not too difficult to obtain. ”

Like the Premier League, FIFA is desperately short of referees. It should be said that there is a shortage of referees in the whole world football now, so like the FA's referee exam, FIFA's referee exam is also very irregular at this time. As long as you want to take the test, there will basically be no big problems.

Jack Taylor thinks that it is easy now because it is not formal. When referees also begin to be professional and formalized, it may be difficult to get the FIFA referee qualification. Let's get our hands on it first.

"But the law enforcement college student competition? It's okay for you to gain some experience on your own, but it's not going to be useful for your future. Those in the FA don't look at the experience of law enforcement in major student matches. For them, these competitions have no reference value. ”

Jack Taylor is getting old, and he finally accepted a genius referee, and he thinks a lot about Jack. Collegiate competitions are just playful, and they don't play any role in Jack's qualifications.

"That's it, Jack. From now on you prepare for the FIFA exam and pass it directly next year. There will be an assessment around July next year, and as long as you pass, you will be able to get the FIFA referee qualification in September. When the time comes, I'll give you an assistant referee position in the national league. I work as an assistant referee for a year or two, and then I can become a referee. ”

When Jack heard this, he was very excited. The national league, which is already the fifth tier of England, and of course the sixth tier, is usually called that. Refers to the Northern League and the Southern League.

A referee like Jack, even if he is strong and has some connections, needs to be trained in the regional leagues. Only then is it eligible to be promoted to the National League as an assistant referee.

If he can really start as an assistant referee in the national league, that is, a linesman, Jack's starting point is very high.

"Thank you, teacher."

That's where networking comes in. Thanks to a top referee like Jack Taylor, you can use his connections, and the starting point is much higher than that of ordinary referees. Jack himself didn't expect his luck to be so good. It's just a simple referee exam, which actually made Jack Taylor, the referee boss, look at it.

"But I can only help you get here. The road ahead is still up to you. ”