Game 10, 2018-19
"We have some guest players, but they don't have player passes," the two coaches tell me half an hour before kick-off. "As it's a friendly, is it okay if they play?" The clubs played against each other last summer, and they all get along. They promise me that there will be no problems.
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Last night's full moon calms the players down |
And what does the obstinate referee say to that? There's a part of me, as always, that just wants to so say, "Give them jerseys, I don't care." There's another part of me imagining one of the guest players starting a ruckus - with a team-mate, an opponent, or with me. There's violence and blood, and he runs from the field never to be seen again. Who was he? No one really knows, or no one's willing to say. And my referee overlords want to know, "Why on earth did you let someone play without a pass? Now we have an assault case on our hands and possibly a civil law suit."