The Referee

Chapter 22

(A/N can i just say i'm proud of myself for getting this far in the story? I mean, i don't even care that no one reads it, I just think it's a pretty big personal accomplishment that I haven't given up yet :P If you do actually read this story, maybe leave a comment? Just so I actually know if its any good, because I honestly have no clue, lol. Thanks :D )

NICOLE's POV

Things are going great. Jason and I have been dating for a month now. I made the school's indoor soccer team. I haven't been bullied since Jason and I started dating. I've been reffing higher level games. speaking of refereeing, I have a game tonight! My whole family is coming since its pretty serious. Jason will be there too. He is really supportive :). 

Anyways, I'm refereeing the championship game for the U14G national championships. The teams were Vancouver Fury and Ottawa Strikers. They both travelled to little old Westside, since we were hosting the tournament. I had been the assitant referee for the quarter and semi finals games of the womens and mens teams, and today they had assigned me to be the main referee for the fourteen year old girls. 

I arrived at the field an hour before game time, all dressed in my fancy clothes. since this was a high level game i was expected to come dressed up, in a dress-shirt and black skirt or dress pants. I chose a pencil skirt along with a white button up blouse and my black high heels. I made my way to the referee's change room and changed into my new black uniform. It had been especially made for this tournament and it had my name stitched in gold letters on the back of the collar. It was extremely flattering and I loved how proffessional I looked in it.

Shortly after I got to the field, my assitant referees showed up. One was Jim Balko, a guy my age, who was a decent ref. We didn't know each other very well but we had met a few times. The other was another teenage male referee, Paulo Valastino. Jim and Paulo were good friends, and we had fun when we reffed together.

We started our warm-up and chatted while we jogged around the field. Paulo had a knack for telling jokes and I found myself laughing between our stretches. Around 10 minutes before the game I called for the captains to come for the coin toss. A girl from each team came.

"Sup." The girl from the Ottawa team snapped her bubblegum as she greeted us.

"Hello!" I said. "Make sure you spit out your gum before the game."

The girl roled her eyes and looked the other captain from head to toe with a scornful gaze.

"Hi Ref!" The Vancouver girl chirped. I forced a smile towards her and groaned inwardly as I shook her hand. 

Great. Attitude on one side, overly spirited on the other.

"Ok guys," I started my captain speech. "This is a championship game, so we will go straight to shots from the penalty mark if there is a tie at the end of regular time. Tell your teammates that I expect a clean, fair game. Also, make sure no one on your team has any jewellery or things like that. We will be doing an equipment check shortly." I turned to the captain from Ottawa. "You are the away team for this match, call the coin in the air."

"Heads!" She called, as I flipped the coin.

"heads it is!" I confirmed. "Which side will you start on?"

"That one." She said, pointing behind her.

"Alright, you will start on that side, and Vancouver, you will start with the ball. Good game ladies!" I said, and shook hands with the two captains. 

After a quick equipment check, and a pregame speech to my assistants, we started the first half. It wsa obvious who the better team was, and after a short amount of time, Vancouver was winning 1-0. Everything went smoothly until the striker from Vancouver was on a breakaway in the 30th minute. She dribbled down the middle of the pitch and was about to shoot when an Ottawa player came from behind her and slide tackled her, hitting the foot the shooter was standing on with her studs. You could hear the bone crushing.

The Ottawa girl collapsed on the ground and screamed out in pain. I immediately blew my whistle and pulled out my red card. The defender had made the most dangerous, violent and excessive tackle I had ever seen!

"Aw ref, I barely touched her!" She drawled. Coincidentally, it was the Ottawa Team's captain.

"Barely touched her is the understatement of the century." I said drily. "You have 20 seconds to get off this field and out of the park."

The girl grumbled and muttered under her breath, but she complied and left the premises.

"Ref come on! That was my best player!" The ottawa coach had come to have a go at me.

"It is highly likely that she has caused this girl to need surgery on her leg." I told him calmly. "She went into the tackle from behind, with a locked leg, with studs up and she was the last defender. It was not only a tackle with excessive force, but it was dangerous and violent. she intended to cause harm to the poor girl." 

"But did she die???" The man had the nerve to shout at me. (Meanwhile, the ambulance had come to the field and was tending to the girl.)

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to return to your bench quietly, and not question any more of my calls." I told him firmly.

"You're just a little girl who doesn't like the sight of blood." He smirked. "I bet you slept with the guy running the referee course. theres no way you would've  passed otherwise."

Anger flashed through my eyes.

"Sir, if you make any more comments i will ask you to leave the premises." I grimaced.

"Ha. I'd like to see you TRY to make me." He taunted.

"Alright, Sir, you need to leave the field, immediately." i told him, as calmly as I could.

"HA!" He laughed in my face. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Alright." I said to him. "The game will not resume until you have left the entire park. And I simply stood and stared at him."

We stood on the field for 15 minutes, waiting for the stubborn coach to leave. Looking at my watch, I realized it was time to end the half. Seeing how the coach wasn't going to leave the field anytime soon, I blew my whistle with two short blasts, followed by one long one, signalling the end of the game. I walked to my bag and my assitants joined me. Picking up the game sheets, I wrote down all of the information that I could, and myself and my assitants signed them. Calling over the coaches from both teams, excluding the one I had tried to eject, I told them what I was doing.

"This game is being abandoned." I said. "The coach refuses to leave the field so obviously we cannot play."

And with that my assistants and I left the field.