Читать книгу Unforgettable Soccer - Luciano Wernicke - Страница 35

The referee Gary Bailey was bothered by the echo. Every time he whistled, there was an identical whistle emanating from the other side of the field, confusing everyone in the stadium of the English city of Hatfield, located about 25 miles north of London. Bailey blew his whistle, the game resumed, and the ghostly resonance stopped everything again. Thus, of course, the Herts Senior Centenary Trophy quarterfinal clash between Hertford Heath FC and Hatfield Town FC, could not continue.

Fed up with the struggle, the referee stopped the game to determine the source of the echo. He found it in a neighboring house: A Senegalese green parrot was having a great time imitating the man in black while watching the game from his cage! The feathered “Me-Too” was also the mascot of the local team. Possessing a sense of humor, Bailey went to the window and showed the bird his red card, which caused general laughter in the soccer players and the 150 spectators. Then, he rang the doorbell and asked the owner of the parrot, Irene Kerrigan, to move her pet to another part of the house until the end of the match, a request to which the woman agreed in a good humor. The annoying incident solved, the referee resumed play, and the game continued without new interference. Hatfield prevailed 5-2, and the eliminated Hertford Heath players argued bitterly that, undoubtedly, the defeat had been defined by the red card shown to Me-Too, their lucky charm.