Wembley Stadium, 27 May 1996.

"Don't be nervous."

This is Wembley Stadium, which is the national stadium of England. The finals of England's major tournaments are held at Wembley Stadium, which is a veritable national stadium. Jack has been a little nervous since he arrived at Wembley Stadium. Seeing Jack's nervous look, Webb patted Jack on the shoulder.

"Howard, it's okay. You don't have to be nervous either. ”

"Yes."

Webb nodded. Webb had a lot of experience in the lower leagues, but it was the first time he had officiated such an important game, so there was some nervousness. However, seeing that Jack was nervous, Webb was a little less nervous.

Empirically, Jack couldn't catch up with Webb. After all, Weber has been a referee for so many years, and he has officiated not a hundred games as a referee, but eighty.

"Brett, come on."

"Yes."

This time, Webb's two assistant referees were very young. One is Jack and the other is Brett Vaughn. It's not that Jack helps, but it has something to do with Jack.

The last time Jack was able to get out of it easily, Brett Vaughn's testimony was very important. This is a debt that Jack owes Brett Vaughn, and Jack Taylor has always thanked Brett Vaughn. So this time it came time to select the assistant referee, and Jack Taylor did some work.

Things for Brett Vaughn are easier than for Webb and Jack. Because Brett Vaughn is young, but he has a lot of experience. It's just that no one appreciates him, so he's stuck with it to this day.

But Brett Vaughn is grateful to Jack. Without Jack, Brett Vaughn would have been in the Northern League for an unknown number of years. It's like a regional league for seven or eight years, and then you don't have a chance.

"Humph!"

Looking at the three hillbillies, encouraging each other there, Mike Dean couldn't help but laugh behind him. Mike Dean is also one of the FA's key trainees and is currently 27 years old. has also obtained the qualification of assistant referee in the football league, and his qualifications are deeper than Webb. It has been reported that Mike Dean will soon become the referee of the football league.

Mike Dean also officiated at the FA Youth Cup final last year and would have been one of the key candidates for the game. It's a pity that I didn't expect to be deprived of my position by a few hillbillies, and now I can only become the fourth referee.

So when he came to the referee's lounge, he simply said hello and sat down without saying anything at all. Just coldly watched a couple of hillbillies talking there.

"Alright, it's time. Let's get out. ”

Webb stood at the front and calmed himself down. Then Mike Dean, Brett Vaughn, and Jack came to the players' tunnel. Players from both sides also began to stand in the tunnel waiting for the final moments.

The importance of the game is really different. Although it is only two teams in the Anglo-African League, this is a game for tickets to the English League C, and there are still quite a lot of fans coming, more than 10,000.

This is the tradition of English football. Although they are Anglo-African clubs, they also have loyal fans who follow them.

"This is an Anglo-African League promotion play-off final between Woking and Gateshead. This match will determine who of the two teams will be in League C. Players from both sides have entered the pitch, so let's take a look at the starting line-ups for both clubs. ”

The Anglo-African League is a lesser-watched league, and although it is a little better than the northern league, it also doesn't have much attention. But because this is the final of the promotion play-offs of the Anglo-African Union, it is broadcast nationally.

There are also commentators who specialize in commenting on the game.

"Doodoo-"

"The game started and the referee blew the whistle for the start of the game. The referee of the match, Howard Webb, is a very young referee, who is only 24 years old this year. ”

The commentator will go into detail about the players, but the referee will pass by in a flash. Football matches are played first by the stars, then by the coaches, then by the fans, and finally by the referees.

But for Webb, it was the most important moment of his refereeing career.

"This is the match that will decide the last promotion place in the Anglo-African League. The winner of this match will become a team in League C, officially a club in the professional league. So it seems that both sides are cautious. ”

is very cautious.

Webb, Brett Vaughn and Jack were a bit nervous coming to Wembley Stadium, as did the Anglo-African club players. Most of these Anglo-African players are semi-professional players and will be able to play at Wembley Stadium. Several of the referees are hillbillies, and these players are also a group of hillbillies.

This time at Wembley Stadium, in addition to the importance of the game itself, the grandeur of Wembley Stadium also puts a lot of pressure on these players. They were also nervous, so the game was a bit dull.

"Toot-"

"Yellow card, the referee showed a yellow card again. There was more physical contact and more fouls in this game. It seems that the young Webb referee is the harsh referee, and has shown five yellow cards so far. ”

The commentator saw that Weber's penalty for fouls was severe, so he understood that Webber was a very harsh referee. In fact, this is a wrongful accusation against Webb, who is the referee who has risen all the way from the regional league to the northern league.

The regional leagues and the northern leagues are too low, so there are countless fouls in the game. Webb came out of such an environment that he would not have been able to establish himself in these leagues if he had enforced the law too strictly. Although there are a lot of physical collisions in the Anglo-African League, they are not too serious compared to the regional league and the northern league.

Therefore, it is not a big deal in Webb's eyes. But Webb's first time officiating such an important game, he was very nervous. Coupled with his lack of qualifications, he himself was not mentally prepared. Therefore, in order to relieve his tension and relieve the lack of confidence in his heart, he can only control the game with a yellow card. That's why the first half of the game hasn't ended, and five yellow cards have already been shown.

"Howard, Howard."

Webb was in the middle of it and couldn't control himself. Jack, on the other hand, was able to see everything clearly on the wing. Webb will definitely ruin the game if he continues like this, after all, the yellow card show rate is too high.

For players in the Premier League and League One, this approach may work. But for the semi-professional players of the Anglo-African Union, yellow cards are not used at all. A lot of their moves are not intentional, it's just their playing habits. They don't really change their playing habits because of yellow cards, and in the end there may be more yellow cards that lead to red cards. That's a mess.

The fates of Jack and Webb are now tied together. No matter how successful Jack is in the assistant referee position, as long as Webb's enforcement in this game is unsuccessful, then Jack will not do him any good.

So Jack immediately called Webb with the microphone in his ear. After all, it is a promotion play-off, and the referee's tools are advanced. There was no such tool when the Northern League and the Anglo-African Union were enforcing the law. But in this game there is everything, and Jack can call the referee with a microphone.

"Howard, you're too nervous."

In terms of experience, Webb surpassed Jack I don't know how many times. But this is the so-called authority fan, bystander clear, Jack found a problem outside. Jack and Webb have worked together so many times that it is easy to see that Webber is not in the right state at the moment. So he grabbed Webb and said, "Howard, you're playing too fast." Pressed down, they're just Anglo-African players. A lot of ramming doesn't play a role. If this continues, the rest of the game will not be played. ”

"I ......"

"Calm down."

The referee and the linesman communicate with each other, which is common in matches. As a result, no one reacted, and on the contrary, some players were worried that the linesman would see what they were doing.

"Whew-"

Webber is an experienced and capable referee. On the field, he kept following the rhythm of the game, so he couldn't control himself for a while. But with Jack's reminder, Webb understands that he is too nervous.

So he looked at Jack and nodded, "I see." Thanks, Jack. ”