Chapter 54 – No one else wants to go? I will go! (1/2)
The whistle was blown, and the crowd was in an uproar!
The players from the Western District were unhappy with the referee’s decision. “Where did we foul?”
Guo Panwei shouted anxiously: “This is a misjudgment! He is the one who kicked Xiao Gao!”
The referee ignored the players’ protest and points to the spot.
“Penalty? What is wrong with you?” Xu Yan ran onto the field and shouted to the referee. “We are defending properly! It is no. 21 that had fouled! He knocked into the goalkeeper! How can you make this decision? You are so close, and you did not see it?” Xu Yan looks around and shouts: “Where are the linesmen? Get the linesmen here!”
Tan Limei, who was in the stands, was also shouting: “Misjudgement!”
After Tan Limei started, the rest of the spectators also followed.
Dong Xuebing kept quiet. He knew that it was hard to decide who had foul in such a scenario.
The referee did not expect the Western District team manager to be so serious. Although the referee was from the City Bureau, his rank was much lower than Chief Xu. He dare not to oppose Xu Yan’s decision. He hesitated and thought if he should give in to Xu Yan’s demands. After all, this was only a friendly match. “Errr…… I think I might have……”
Before Chaoyang’s team manager said anything, the bespectacled middle-aged woman walked over with her handbag.
That’s Eastern District Branch Bureau’s Deputy Political Commissar Xu!
“Your decision is right. Where is the misjudgment?” Xu Tan was wearing pants and a short sleeve shirt. Her eyes were small, and she should not be as pretty as Chief Xu when they were young. She sauntered and glanced at Xu Yan. “I saw the incident clearly. It is the Western District goalkeeper that tripped Chaoyang’s no. 21 first.”
Xu Yan’s face turned black: “Deputy Political Commissar Xu, what is the meaning of this?”
Deputy Political Commissar Xu looked at her and replied. “Deputy Bureau Chief Xu, I am saying what I had seen.”
Xu Yan replied: “I saw the incident clearly too. You don’t need to interfere!”
Deputy Political Commissar Xu: “But you are not the referee. The referee had awarded a penalty! Right?”
The referee was stuck in the middle and did not know what to say.
Chaoyang Branch Bureau’s team manager was only a Divisional Director, and he pretended not to see anything. Almost everyone in Beijing State Security’s higher-ups knew Chief Xu, and Deputy Political Commissar Xu were loggerheads because of that incident in the past. No one wants to get involved between both women.
Chief Xu and Deputy Political Commissar Xu argued for 5 minutes.
In the end, they decided they had to escalate this argument to their higher-ups. A call was made to the City Bureau, who was the organizer of this tournament and the phone was passed to Chief Xu. “Xiao Xu, think of the bigger picture. What’s the use of arguing over such a trivial matter? This is a friendly tournament. The referee had awarded a penalty, and it should be a penalty! The referee’s decision is final! Carry on with the match!”
After Chief Xu ended the call, Deputy Political Commissar Xu smiled: “Your team had lost how many matches in a row? 7? 8?”
“Mind your own business!” Chief Xu was trying to control her anger. She could feel her blood pressure rising, and she took deep breathes to calm herself. She walked back to the sidelines and looked at the injured Xiao Gao. “How is your injury? Can you still play?”
Xiao Gao, who was still half lying on the ground, replied: “I’m sorry, Chief Xu, my leg is too painful.”
The no. 21 was already up on his feet and doing his warm-up for the penalty kick. He did not seem to be injured at all.
Xu Yan looks terrible. She thought if Chaoyang Team scored this penalty, then Western District team will suffer 7 losses in a row. She will be laughed by Deputy Political Commissar Xu Yan. Chief Xu can afford to lose this match, but she was not willing to be laughed at by that woman! She gritted her teeth and said: “Substitute the goalkeeper! I don’t care what you all do, but they must not score! You all must block this penalty!”
Everyone could tell Deputy Bureau Chief Xu was furious and no one dares to say a word.
It was easy to substitute the goalkeeper as this tournament did not restrict the number of substitutes. Anyone who wants to play can just enter the match as substitutes. But the problem was the no. 21 player. He can be considered a professional player.
It was all luck for penalty kicks. No one could tell which direction the penalty taker would kick. What if the substituted goalkeeper could not save the penalty and Chief Xu let that person take full responsibility? No one dares to say a word.
1 second……
5 seconds……