Chapter 27: Press Conference (Part II)

In English, "justice" and "judge" are the same word, and this time, the judge, who represents "justice", personally closed the door to justice for the families of the victims.

And the grievances of the souls of the ninety-six Liverpool fans will never have a chance to get Zhaoxue again. Until now, they have been branded as "football hooligans", wandering between heaven and hell, unable to enter the gates of heaven, and unwilling to go to hell to endure torture.

Later, angry Liverpudlians launched a boycott of The Sun, which is still going on today. Liverpool fans are often seen on the sidelines holding up a sign with the blood-soaked Sun logo reading:

The truth is that ninety-six people died in the 1989 Heath Castle massacre! For the sake of the deceased, don't buy the Sun!

The Sun now has just over 10,000 copies in Liverpool, more than 200,000 fewer than before the Heathborough massacre.

For the lonely Liverpool fans, there is no legal support, and this is their only means of fighting. Even such a struggle is still so pale in front of a vast net of police, judges, lawyers, and British political axes.

With this background in mind, it's easy to see why the media is so focused on the stands rather than the pitch.

Football violence seems to have faded away from the limelight since Thatcher's indiscriminate and iron-fisted policies, with more of a star and coach scandal reported in the media, but yesterday's game re-energized Britain's paparazzi.

Yes, football hooligans are back! Football violence is back! Something that caught the public's eye is back!

With a "bang", Don threw the newspaper in his hand. He originally thought that this was the end of the matter, and let it pass if it was past, but he didn't expect it...... After the Heathborough massacre, the media in England has become much more restrained than before. Most of them thought it was the responsibility of the Millwall fans this time, starting with a group of extreme Millwall fans singing in the stands mocking Gavin, a young fan who died because of a fan brawl. Bernard, and then the singing was amplified and the visiting Forest fans were dissatisfied, which led to the conflict that interrupted the game.

Basically, Donn thinks this is a fair and objective report, and does not classify the Forest fans who were forced to fight back as "football hooligans".

But the Millwall club president's words made Donn angry.

β€œβ€¦β€¦ I'm outraged by the claims of those who think the Forest fans stormed the police because they were provoked by our fans. What I saw with my own eyes was that Nottingham Forest fans started the fight, they tried to storm the pitch and remove the plastic seats from the stands and throw them into the pitch...... "That's what Millwall president Theo'Paphitis said in an interview with reporters.

"I was directing the game and it was impossible to notice what was going on in the stands. No manager is going to focus on something that doesn't have to do with the game. But then I heard about it, and I thought it wasn't the Millwall fans who caused the incident, but a mob from Nottingham! Therefore, it is they who should be held responsible, not us! These are the words of Millwall's head coach Alain. McClairy told The Sun.

The disturbance at Newden Stadium resulted in 13 injuries, of which five were arrested by the police at Millwall, while two were taken into the police station at Nottingham Forest, with 88 seats suffering varying degrees of damage, while many minor injuries were sustained by the police. It is arguably the largest fan disturbance in the stadium in the UK in recent years. The biggest off-pitch was on June 7 last year, when more than 5,000 fans rioted in the Millwall area after the team failed in the promotion play-offs.

In the case of attracting the attention of many media outlets, the chairman and coach of the opposing party said so, which is tantamount to putting the black pot on the head of Nottingham Forest.

Done hated Millwall as a club, and now he has added to the old hatred.

He decided to break the silence and give a resounding slap in the face to the shameless people.

So he spread out the paper, intending to write an open letter before commissioning Pierce. Bruce put him in the newspapers. Some words can only be held in the heart, and the feeling of having nowhere to say is really uncomfortable. Luckily, he has a journalist friend with whom he has a good relationship.

Just as Donn was writing the first word, he received a call from Evan.

"Tony, can you come to City Stadium?"

"What's wrong? Evan, I'm ...... now" Donn looked at the open letter that had just begun, ready to ask clearly, if it wasn't anything important, he would push it first.

"Yesterday's fan displacement, I'm going to have a press conference in the name of the club, you ...... I know you're tempted to scold those bastards, and now I'm giving you a chance to scold them in front of all of Britain! "Evan. Dogetty said fiercely.

Don was happy: "You know me so well, Evan! I'll be right away! ”

β€»β€»β€»Fifteen minutes later, Don appeared in Evan. Mr. Dogotti is located in his office at City Stadium. When he came from Barbara. When Miss Lucy led the door in, Evan Brown. Dogetty was standing in front of the window with his back to the door, watching the countless reporters below trot through the door.

"Mr. Dogetty, Mr. Donn is here."

Evan turned around and smiled at Lucy, "Thank you, Miss Lucy." ”

Lucy poured Don a glass of water and turned and walked out.

Donn's gaze only turned back as Miss Lucy's writhing ass disappeared through the crack in the door. He saw Evan staring at him and laughing, so he scratched his head a little embarrassedly and explained awkwardly, "Uh...... The new secretary, it's just, it's not bad......"

"That's not the new secretary, Miss Lucy followed me back to England from the United States. Always being my personal secretary, she and Alan are people I can fully trust. ”

"Well, I know...... What about me? Don was intrigued by Evan's last words, and he asked.

"So do you, Tony. We've only known each other for a short time, but I like your straightforward last name. Evan sat casually in the corner of the table, as his dad Nigel was. When Dogetty was at the helm of the club, he would never see it.

"Hey, when you told me it wasn't in your plan, I thought I was abandoned." Don shook his head slightly. "You know what? Evan, I had at least three club phone numbers in my pocket at the time, and I could go whenever I wanted. ”

Evan nodded that he knew, "So I've always had a question." Tony, what made you finally decide to stay at the club where you couldn't see the future, even if you came back to coach at the youth level? ”

The question silenced Donn for a moment, and then he whispered, "Evan, I hesitated for a long time when deciding whether I wanted to leave or stay. Many people have helped me in direct or indirect ways, such as...... Boss Clough took me to the coaching cocktail and met the world, where I saw countless successful and unsuccessful coaches, and I felt like I had stepped into a completely different world, and he told me that failure was only temporary. Later, I went to the youth team training base and saw that the base was empty. Wood – the genius I found in the ghetto – was alone on the training grounds, working hard for his dream of stardom. Next I went to Gavin's graveyard. ”

Hearing Don say this, Evan no longer leaned over the table very casually, he got down and stood at the table to listen to Donn continue.

"I met Michael there and he told me he was going to the United States. His wife couldn't bear the grief of staying here and missing her son all night, so the family moved to a country without football. I can't persuade him to stay, his family and his life are more important than football. He knew I might go, so he said......"

Don whispered slowly, as if he had returned to the afternoon of that day. In front of Gavin's tombstone, Michael patted him on the shoulder and said to him, "...... Brian. Clough came to this team on January 3rd, and you Tony came on January 1st, just two days away. It's a shame that maybe we've all missed out on a very legendary story......"

"Then he left, and I was alone in the empty cemetery. Even though Michael compared me to Clough, I wasn't sure I wanted to stay. It wasn't until I saw a sentence on Gavin's tombstone, which was so small that I had been ignoring it. Hey, Evan. Do you want to know what is written on that? ”

Evan nodded.

It said: It's Michael who is buried here. Bernard and Fiona. Bernard's beloved son, Nottingham Forest's most loyal fan, George Brown. Wood's eternal supporter - Gavin. Bernard. ”

Don didn't continue, and Evan fell silent.

He knew there was something about Don and Michael. Bernard was a celebrity among the fans in that community, and everyone knew that he had a smart and likable son. He also regretted Gavin's death. Otherwise, how could he have thought of holding a press conference today to refute Millwall's claims?

But he really didn't expect that little kid to occupy such an important place in Don's heart. It seems that I really found the right place to find him today.

Evan coughed, "Okay, I think it's almost time, let's go down......"

The silence in the office was finally broken, and Don woke up from his musings, looked up at Evan, and then stood up with his lips pursed.

"Uh, Tony." Evan reminded him, "Do you need to prepare a draft of your speech?" I asked Miss Lucy to prepare a ...... for you in advance."

Don shook his head and declined his kindness, "Thank you, Evan. But I don't need to, I've never heard of scolding people and using scripts. Then he pushed open the office door and walked out.

(To be continued)