"Hello Referee Bol."

"Jack, long time no see."

Jack didn't wait for Ferguson and Beckham to invite him for a drink, but instead received another phone call. The call of the referee who is getting better and better in the Premier League at the moment, Graham Bol.

Graham Ball.

I'm only 35 years old this year, but I've been a referee in the Premier League for several years. Although he is still young, he has slowly become the number one referee in the Premier League. Right now, Bol is definitely the FA's most supported Premier League referee.

Like Gallagher, they are only higher than Bol because they are older and more senior than Pol, so their status is higher than Pol. However, at present, the FA is pushing Bol to become the first referee in the Premier League, and Bol is slowly becoming the representative referee of the Premier League.

"Yes. It's been almost three years. ”

Jack and Bol were in contact. But that was three years ago, when Jack first became an assistant referee. At that time, Jack was sent off by his own referee, and Bol was among the FA's investigators.

However, there was not much communication between Jack and Pol at the time, and most of the problems and decisions were made by Philip Don. And after all, Jack was the assistant referee in the Northern League at that time, and Bol was already a well-known Premier League referee. There is no way for the two to cross paths.

It's just that three years later, Pol took the initiative to contact Jack.

"You have a lot of personality."

"Huh?"

"David and I are friends. However, I didn't support David in the newspapers, at most I defended him. ”

Jack Lee, the name is a very impressive referee for Bol. Because Bol just made his mark in the Premier League three years ago and was also involved in the FA investigation. It's just beginning to make his mark in the English refereeing world.

'You're a Premier League referee and there's a lot of eyes on you. And I'm just a referee in the lower leagues, and I don't have any scruples about talking. ”

Jack was a small flatterer to Pol. Although the relationship between referees, coaches and players in English football is constant, no referee dares to come out and say that he has a good relationship with a coach and a player. Because everyone understands in their hearts that it is one thing, and you yourself admit that it is completely an act of looking for death. If anyone dares to break out such a topic, in order to stop Yoyo's mouth, the FA will also punish this referee.

"Don't talk about that. What do you think of my proposal? ”

"Of course it's an honor for me."

The new season is just around the corner. Before the new season, there is still a cup competition waiting in English football, that is, the match between the Premier League champion and the FA Cup winner, and the Charity Shield has the lowest gold content in the English Cup.

When it comes to the Charity Shield, it was not taken seriously when it was established. In the beginning, the Charity Shield was a confrontation between professional and amateur teams. That is to say, the confrontation between the champion of the professional league and the champion of the amateur league can be seen in the gold content of this cup.

Although it was slowly changed, the amateur league team withdrew, and then it became the current Premier League title and FA Cup title competition, but the gold content is still very poor. Compared to the Italian Super Cup and the Spanish Super Cup, they are not equal in any respect. The Charity Shield can even be swapped for six people, almost indistinguishable from some friendlies.

Bol was selected as the Head Referee for the Charity Shield before the season and invited Jack to join the refereeing staff as an assistant referee for the Charity Shield.

The Charity Shield is indeed very low in gold. Even in the FA referees' committee's inspection of referees, the referees of the Charity Shield are not as valuable as the referees of the League Two promotion play-off finals.

However, the Charity Shield has one advantage over them, and that is that the two clubs in the Charity Shield are played by champion-level teams. Don't look at the fact that neither of them attaches much importance to the game, but no matter how much they don't pay attention to it, it is also a game between the championship teams. The attention of the media and fans is relatively high.

For a young referee like Jack, being an assistant referee in such a high-profile game is an important experience for Jack.

"Jack, then it's settled."

"Yes. Thank you. ”

Jack is so thankful for Pol. The Charity Shield has little gold, but Jack's appearance in the Charity Shield also shows that Jack is running towards the Premier League at full speed.

But choosing Jack as an assistant referee can also be another way to say that the Charity Shield is an irregular cup competition. As a match between two champion-level teams, Jack does not even qualify as an assistant referee in the Premier League, and can also officiate the Charity Shield as an assistant referee.

"Don't be nervous when you're playing. Neither side will care too much about this game. The World Cup has just ended, and it is estimated that many of the main players will not play. ”

"Yes."

…………

On 9 August 1998, the England Charity Shield kicked off at Wembley Stadium.

Manchester United against Arsenal.

Arsenal's sudden rise last season was something that no one expected. Graham's Arsenal, although good results on the whole, were on the verge of collapse by 94 or 95.

Like the five veterans of the Arsenal Graham defence, especially Arsenal's captain Adams, are on the verge of retirement. Because of alcoholism and other reasons, the strength of Arsenal veterans has declined overall.

What's more, Graham's black gold scandal came out, which greatly damaged Arsenal's morale.

That's when the Frenchman in Japan came. Derided by The Sun as "Assena, who?" This is the current Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. No one could have imagined Arsene Wenger would lead Arsenal to the Premier League and FA Cup titles last season.

"Jack, nervous?"

The match was about to start, and Neil Barry, as the fourth referee, was reading a book leisurely, as if he didn't care about the game at all. Then he saw Jack standing there, still not sitting down, so he asked Jack slowly.

"A little. It's the first time I've met so many stars. ”

In the game that Jack officiated, Blackburn's star was the most famous. And now the Charity Shield is even more star-studded. After all, the two teams are currently the two strongest teams in the Premier League.

On the Arsenal side, Adams, Seaman, Vieira, Petit, and Overmars are all famous stars, and they are all the absolute main force of their respective national teams. And Anelka is one of the top talents in European football.

The same is true for Manchester United. The 92 generation of players has now begun to make their mark in the England national team, along with the likes of Andy Cole, Sheringham and Kasper Schmeichel.

"It's just a charity shield. Both teams won't be too attentive and you shouldn't be nervous. Pretty much that's fine. ”

Neil Barry laughed and explained to Jack. Listening to his words, Jack also slowly relaxed. Also, this isn't really a heavyweight game. It's not a League Cup final, it's not an FA Cup final, it's just a Charity Shield.

"Thank you."

"It's fine. I've come from your age too. But you're better than me, and you're already a referee in League C at such a young age. ”

After letting Jack relax, Neil Barry chatted with Jack like an elder. Jack always thought that the best temperament in the Premier League would be Halsey, who he had worked with, but after meeting Neil Barry today, he felt better about him.

Neil Barry is not a star referee, unlike a Premier League star like Bol and a super-fast-moving referee like Webb. He came out completely step by step, relying on his qualifications.

Neil Barry has been a judge for 24 years, having been a judge since 1974. For the next sixteen years, he was in the Regional League and the North County East League. It wasn't until 1990 that he became an assistant referee in the football league.

After that, his development was very fast. In 1991 he became the referee of the Anglo-African United and in 1993 he became the referee of the Football League. In 1997, he became the referee of the Premier League.

But it is precisely because of the qualifications and experience. So in the 96-97 season of the League One promotion play-off final, he was the referee, and he won many Premier League referees at that time to get this opportunity. He was also the referee in last season's FA Youth Cup final. The new season has just begun, and he has become the fourth referee of the Charity Shield.

His qualifications are completely overwhelming in English football. Even Conor Gallagher, the current Premier League No. 1 referee, is not as qualified as Neil Barry in front of him.

Among the current veteran referees in the Premier League, most of the veteran referees debuted in 1978, and then debuted in 1979. Of course, most of them were referees who debuted in the early eighties. Neil Barry is the only veteran referee who has been a referee since 1974.

"Hahaha. Referee Barry, referee Riley still have a time like that? ”

Sure enough, it's the old referee. Neil Barry didn't look like he became a Premier League referee last year, but he has a lot of connections in the refereeing industry. He even knows a lot of referees' troubles.

"Of course, you can do anything as a referee. Just like you, you were sent off by your own referee, but I read the newspaper for a long time. ”

"The ......"

Jack didn't expect Neil Barry to talk about it in front of him.

"It's fine. In the future, you will become famous, this is your legendary story. Maybe someone else writes your story, but this matter is still a strong stroke. It's like Coach Clough, who was sacked at Leeds United for only 44 days, and considered his most humiliating moment. But looking back now, that incident is one of Coach Clough's most memorable events. ”

"Yes."

Jack nodded. If he fails in the future, then his things will become a laughing stock in the history of referees. Maybe everyone forgot Jack's name later, but they knew about this funny thing.

But in the future, he will become famous and achieve high results. At that time, these things will become the legend of Jack's legendary refereeing career as Jack's status increases. On the contrary, it will be touted by many people.

"When you go up, you can relax and think it's a warm-up game. However, the Charity Shield was originally a friendly match. ”

Because he has been in the lower leagues for too long, he has stayed in the regional leagues and the Anglo-African League alone for almost two decades. Therefore, he has a better mentality than many old referees, and he does not look at young referees like Jack like some other veteran referees. On the contrary, he appreciates a young referee like Jack more.

"I understand."