In English, "justice" and "judge" were the same word. This time, the judge who represented "justice" personally closed the door of justice for the families of the deceased.
And the wronged souls of the 96 Liverpool fans would never have a chance to be cleared. They were still branded as "football hooligans" and lingered between heaven and hell. Unable to enter the gates of heaven, they were unwilling to go to hell to endure the torment.
Later, the angry Liverpudlians launched a boycott of The Sun, which was still ongoing. Liverpool fans could often be seen at the sidelines of the game holding up a banner. Under the bloody logo of The Sun, it read:
The truth is that 96 people died in the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy! For the dead, don't buy The Sun!
Until now, The Sun's circulation in Liverpool was only slightly more than 10,000, which was more than 200,000 less than before the Hillsborough tragedy.
For the powerless Liverpool fans, they could not get support from the law. This was their only way of fighting. Even such a struggle, in front of a big net made up of police, judges, lawyers, and the British government, it was still so pale and powerless.
After understanding this background, one could understand why the media paid so much attention to the football stands and not the field.
Ever since Thatcher's indiscriminate iron-fisted policy, football violence seemed to have gradually moved away from people's sight. The media reported more on the scandals of star players and coaches. But yesterday's game made the British paparazzi's blood boil again.
Yes, the football hooligans were back! Football violence was back! The thing that attracted the public's attention was back!
※ ※ ※
With a crash, Tang En threw the newspaper in his hands out. He originally thought the matter was over and let bygones be bygones. He did not expect …
After the Hillsborough tragedy, the English media had become much more restrained than before. This time, they mostly believed that the Millwall fans were responsible. First, a group of extreme Millwall fans sang a song in the stands to mock the young fan, Gavin Bernard, who died because of a fan fight. Then, the song spread and caused the Forest fans to be dissatisfied, which led to the conflict that interrupted the game.
Basically, Tang En thought this was still a report from a fair and objective point of view. He did not classify the Forest fans who were forced to fight back as "football hooligans."
But the words of the Millwall club chairman made Tang En angry.
"… I'm angry at those who think that the Forest fans were provoked by our fans and attacked the police. I saw it with my own eyes. The Nottingham Forest fans started the fight. They tried to rush into the stadium and took down the plastic seats in the stands and threw them into the stadium … "That was what Millwall's chairman, Theo Paphitis, said in an interview with reporters.
"I was directing the match, so I couldn't have noticed what was happening in the stands. No manager would pay attention to things that had nothing to do with the game. But when I heard about it later, I felt that the cause of the incident was not the Millwall fans, but a group of thugs from Nottingham! Therefore, they are the ones who should bear the responsibility, not us! " This was what Millwall's head coach, Alan McRally, said to a reporter from The Sun.
The riot at Newden Stadium this time caused 13 people to be injured. Among them, five people from Millwall were arrested by the police, while two people from Nottingham Forest were brought into the police station. 88 seats were damaged to varying degrees, and many police officers also suffered minor injuries. It could be considered the largest fan riot that had happened in England in recent years. The largest outside the stadium was on the 7th of June last year. After Millwall lost the promotion play-offs, more than 5,000 fans took part in a huge riot in the Millwall area.
Under the circumstances that attracted the attention of many media outlets, the opposing chairman and manager both said so, which was tantamount to putting the blame on Nottingham Forest.
Tang En hated the Millwall club to begin with, and now the old enmity was adding new hatred to it.
He decided to break the silence and give that group of shameless people a resounding slap.
So he spread out a piece of paper, intending to write an open letter and then entrust Pierce Brosnan to publish it in the newspapers. Some words could only be kept in the heart. The feeling of not having a place to say them was too uncomfortable. Fortunately, he had a reporter friend who was on good terms with him.
Just as Tang En wrote down the first word, he received a call from Evan.
"Tony, can you make a trip to the City Ground stadium?"
"What's wrong? Evan, I'm now … "Tang En looked at the open letter that had just opened and was ready to clarify. If it was not something important, he would reject it for now.
"I plan to hold a press conference in the name of the club about yesterday's fan riot. You come … I know you must want to scold those bastards. Now I'll give you a chance to scold them in front of the whole of England!" Evan Doughty said fiercely.
Tang En was amused. "You really know me too well, Evan! I'll be right there! "
※ ※ ※
Fifteen minutes later, Tang En appeared in Mr. Chairman Evan Doughty's office in the City Ground stadium. When he was led in by Miss Barbara Lucy, Evan Doughty was standing in front of the window with his back to the door, looking down at the countless reporters jogging in through the door.
"Mr. Doughty, Mr. Tang En is here."
Evan turned around and smiled at Lucy. "Thank you, Miss Lucy."
Lucy poured a glass of water for Tang En and turned to leave.
Tang En's gaze followed Miss Lucy's wriggling butt as she disappeared through the gap in the door before he turned back. He saw Evan staring at him and smiling, so he scratched his head in embarrassment and explained awkwardly, "Uh … a new secretary. Not bad …"
"That's not a new secretary. Miss Lucy followed me back to England from America. She's been my private secretary all this time. She and Allan are people I can completely trust. "
"Yeah, I know … What about me?" Tang En asked, very interested in Evan's last sentence.
"You too, Tony. Although we haven't known each other for long, I like your straightforward character. " Evan sat casually at the corner of the table. Such a situation was definitely not seen when his father, Nigel Doughty, was in charge of the club.
"Hey, when you told me it wasn't in your plans, I thought I was abandoned." Tang En shook his head gently. "Did you know? Evan, I had at least three club phone numbers in my pocket at that time. I could leave at any time if I wanted. "
Evan nodded to show that he knew. "That's why I've always had a question. Tony, what made you finally decide that even if you were to return to the youth team to coach, you would still stay at the club that you could not see a future for? "
This question made Tang En silent for a moment. Then he said in a low voice, "Evan, when I was deciding whether I should leave or stay, I hesitated for a long time. Many people helped me through direct or indirect methods. For example … Boss Clough brought me to the coaches' reception to broaden my horizons. I saw countless successful and unsuccessful managers there. It was as if I had walked into a completely different world from before. He even told me that failure was only temporary. Later, I went to the youth team's training base and saw that there was no one there. George Wood — the genius I found in the slums — was practicing his basic skills alone in the training ground, working hard for his dream of becoming a star player. Next, I went to Gavin's grave. "
Hearing Tang En say this, Evan no longer sat casually on the table. He came down and stood in front of the table to listen to Tang En continue.
"I met Michael there. He told me that he was going to America. His wife could not bear the pain of staying here and missing her son day and night. So, the whole family wanted to move to a country without football. I could not persuade him to stay. Compared to football, his family and life were more important. He knew that I might leave, so he said … "
Tang En slowly spoke in a low voice. He felt as if he had returned to that afternoon. In front of Gavin's gravestone, Michael patted him on the shoulder and said, "Brian Clough came to this team on the 3rd of January. You, Tony, were on the 1st of January. Only two days apart. What a pity. Maybe we've all missed out on a very legendary story … "
"Later, he left. I was alone in the empty graveyard. Even though Michael compared me to Clough, I still did not make up my mind to stay. Until I saw a sentence on Gavin's gravestone. The words were very small, and I had always ignored them. Hey, Evan. Do you want to know what was written on it? "
Evan nodded.
"It said: Here lies the beloved son of Michael Bernard and Fiona Bernard, Nottingham Forest's most loyal fan, and George Wood's eternal supporter — Gavin Bernard."
Tang En did not continue. Evan also fell silent.
He knew about Tang En and Michael. Michael Bernard was a celebrity among the fans in the community. Everyone knew that he had a smart and lovable son. He also felt sorry for Gavin's death. Otherwise, why would he think of holding a press conference today to refute Millwall's words?
But he really did not think that the child would occupy such an important place in Tang En's heart. It seemed that he had found the right person to ask him to come today.
Evan coughed. "Well, I think it's about time. Let's go down …"
The silence in the office was finally broken. Tang En woke up from his thoughts and looked up at Evan. Then, he pursed his lips and stood up.
"Uh, Tony," Evan reminded him. "Do you need to prepare a script for your speech? I've asked Miss Lucy to draft one for you in advance … "
Tang En shook his head and declined his good intentions. "Thank you, Evan. But I don't need it. I've never heard of using a script to scold someone. "Then, he pushed open the office door and walked out.
(To be continued. If you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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