813 A Scoundrel Realized His Ambition

The game between Nottingham Forest and Barcelona had ended, but the story was far from over.

A day later, the Barcelona Football Club filed a complaint with the UEFA about the quality of the turf at the City Ground stadium. At the same time, Nottingham Forest submitted a complaint document which they had worked on for a week about the issue with the referee in the first game.

In any case, the battle between the two sides would continue on a higher level.

Barcelona protested against Nottingham Forest's use of a scheme lacking in sportsmanship to help them win the game. They had brazenly changed the turf at the last minute. Mourinho used to sprinkle sand on the turf at Stamford Bridge when he was at Chelsea to deal with Barcelona; but, generally, people simply could not see the sand spilled on the pitch. Only the people who personally played on the field would know how uncomfortable it was, and could not instantly figure out the reason why. Tony Twain's ploy was too blatant. Was he afraid that he would not leave enough evidence?

The English media taunted Barcelona for being a sore loser. "They have already lost the game, and yet they still talked about the terrible pitch condition and Nottingham Forest resorting to tricks. Do they still want the UEFA to award them the victory?"

The Catalan media hit back: "We just want to preserve the spirit of sportsmanship in professional football! A sacred football match must not be tarnished by conduct of such vile character!"

When the Barcelona players and coaches were interviewed after the game, they all blamed their loss on the City Ground stadium's poor pitch. It appeared to them that, as long as the pitch had been fine, they would definitely have won. In fact, they just wanted to draw attention to the quality of the turf in the City Ground stadium.

The Nottingham Forest Football Club remained unmoved. They alleged that the UEFA had agreed for them to change the turf. The quality of the turf may have been a little worse for wear, but they had no other choice due to the club's financial constraints... But, they had learned their lesson this time and promised that this would never happen again. If they did not believe them, the UEFA officials and the Catalan media were welcomed to inspect and provide pointers for the first leg of the semifinal match...

The UEFA was also forced to suffer in silence this time around. In fact, anyone remotely intelligent could see what Tony Twain was up to. He stated that financial constraints had caused the quality of the turf to be so poor. Did it mean that things were really bad? Nottingham Forest was also an English Premier League club. How could they not have two sets of standard turf? It was pure nonsense! He deliberately had not taken one out, just so that they could use this against Barcelona. This point was already commonly understood by everyone. Even if one were to interview Nottingham Forest fans, nine out of ten would think so, and the one person who said that they did not think so would be lying.

But the UEFA really could not punish Nottingham Forest, because they had agreed to and approved the club's change of turf. They would have to accept responsibility first in order to punish the Forest team. If they went that way, everyone would find themselves in an awkward situation and they would not come out looking good. And, more importantly, Tony Twain had done this in full compliance with the procedure. They could find no fault.

Barcelona's complaint made them looked like a sore loser.

Platini privately supported the Catalan side. His and the other top brass' relationship with Barcelona was really good. But he had to handle the matter impartially, or he would lose his prestige and undermine the UEFA's reputation. The outcome of any impartial handling of the matter would be that Nottingham Forest was innocent of any wrongdoing.

At last, the UEFA issued a public statement saying that it would inspect the quality of all fields that would host the Champions League games in the future, and that any clubs which did not pass the review would be penalized. Their "home turf" would be banned.

"...We believe that, in the highest-level tournament among European clubs, the venues that host the matches should be of an appropriate standard. This should never be in doubt. For example, we have asked that the venue for the Champions League final must be able to accommodate at least sixty thousand people, which is a mandatory requirement. Any stadium that does not meet this requirement will not be considered. Of course, we can't use the number of seats as a criterion for venues that are not for the finals, but a certain quality of turf is still necessary... Yes. We don't want to see the scene from the City Ground stadium last week happen again. I admit that the official launch of the rule has something to do with the game between Barcelona and Nottingham Forest. It was an unusual game... No, we will not impose any punishment on the Nottingham Forest Football Club. They were within the limits of the regulations…"

Following this remark, the press spokesman spoke rather helplessly. What they had said was tantamount to euphemistically confirming the UEFA's belief that Nottingham Forest had found a loophole with the UEFA. Although we can't punish them now, it does not mean that we can't punish them in the future, he thought. Anyway, we have taken note of this, and, one day, we will settle the score.

Even after the new rule was established, the Catalan media was still unwilling to forgive and forget, and complained that Barcelona would have made it to the top four if the rule had been introduced a week earlier.

The English media taunted them, saying, "If Barcelona had learned of Tony Twain's move earlier, they wouldn't have to complain like this."

Guardiola was expressionless during an interview he gave. It was clear that losing the game in such a wretched way still had him brooding a week later. "The UEFA did the right thing, albeit a little late. I just hope that Barcelona's defeat can be a source of power to drive progress in the Champions League—as the viewers and fans in front of the television, as well as the spectators who come to the stadiums to watch the highest level of European competition, definitely do not want to watch that kind of game."

"That kind of game" that he was referred to was certainly the second-leg match between Nottingham Forest and Barcelona. The football had flown back and forth in the air from start to finish. There had been no beauty to speak of. The big-name star players did not play normally, which disappointed those people who wanted to enjoy their wonderful performances. It had zero technical highlights, and the tactics used were subpar. A typical game in which the results were more important than everything else was something really boring.

But there had also been four goals in such a game as this. Moreover, two of them had made it into the top ten best goals in the Champions League this season. In this respect, the game was better than a lot of those thrilling-to-watch games with dull results...

On the other side of the sea, Tony Twain was surrounded by a crowd of reporters at the training ground, wanting him to talk about the new UEFA rules.

Twain smiled and agreed with the UEFA's new rule. "It's a good thing—of course it's a good thing. In particular, I agree with the spokesman's statement that, 'as the highest-level tournament among European clubs, the venues that host the games should be of the appropriate standard.' Well-said!" Twain's smile could easily be interpreted as him fawning on the UEFA. "I don't think the fans themselves want to see a game on a vegetable field. That would be damaging to football!" Looking at his righteously indignant face, it seemed as if the turf on the City Ground's stadium had nothing to do with him.

"So, I give two thumbs-up to the UEFA rule." At this point, he even raised his hands. "This rule guarantees the quality of the Champions League tournament, and it's a good thing for our players too—because no one will worry about getting injured from playing on a bad pitch. This is a very humane and rigid rule. Nottingham Forest will certainly give its full support and cooperation!"

Guardiola reportedly tore the newspaper in half after he read Twain's comments—reportedly.

The other matter was more complicated.

A week after that game, the UEFA finally dealt with the issue of the turf by introducing the new rule. Subsequently, they were going to deal with Tony Twain. They had no grounds to do so in the "vegetable field" incident. But, now, they believed there must be enough reasons to deal with the unruly Twain.

You dare to accuse our appointed referee of accepting a bribe from Barcelona? They thought. What evidence do you have? There is none. You're making a false accusation!

Normally, with UEFA's bureaucratic style of handling things, a hearing would have to wait until six months later.

But, this time, contrary to the norm, the UEFA acted swiftly and decisively. Tony Twain was notified that he had to attend a hearing in Nyon, Switzerland as soon as the "vegetable field" incident was dealt with.

Before going to Switzerland, Twain called Pierce Brosnan and Lineker. He was willing to accept an interview, to be recorded by BBC 5. The interview would be aired on BBC 5 and published in the Nottingham Evening Post.

Obviously, Twain did realize that this was a huge pitfall in his coaching career. Someone wanted to mess with him—but he would not be dragged down.

So, he needed to give his all and package himself as a Robin Hood figure up against the official authorities. He needed to win more support from the people and make use of the media. This kind of thing could be done easily.

The interview naturally revolved around a series of recent topics involving Tony Twain and unfolded from there.

Lineker was the one who conducted the interview, while Brosnan took notes off to the side.

Lineker asked a lot of questions, which Twain answered one-by-one. In the television footage, he tossed aside his usual arrogant and egocentric manner and looked placid, with a smile on his face, as he cordially accepted the interview. Sometimes he even displayed his characteristic sense of humor, but his antagonistic ways against the press were not to be seen. It would have been rare to see this in previous interviews; he seemed to have a natural enmity toward reporters.

He did not shy away from sensitive issues. Instead, he opened up to Lineker.

He said the "counting the money-gate" incident was a term invented by the Catalan media. He had never said that the referee had accepted a bribe from Barcelona. He had not hinted at it in any other way. His gesture had obviously been—snapping his fingers.

Lineker asked why he would snap his fingers in that situation. One had to realize that, if his action were to be interpreted as snapping, then it was, indeed, abrupt and inexplicable.

"It may be abrupt to the outside world, but I don't find it strange. It's like when a player has been sent off inexplicably by the referee and claps to express his anger. I did not choose to clap. I chose to snap my fingers and that meant, Well done, referee! Can you understand? It was actually kind of ironic. But the Barcelona fans in the stadium preferred to interpret it as 'counting money.' I don't know why. Maybe they're naturally cynical?" He laughed.

The Nottingham Forest fans would think that this was Twain's humor. But if the Barcelona fans were lucky enough to watch the interview, they were definitely not going to think so...

"I repeat—I had never said, in any way, on any occasion, that I thought the referee on duty at that game had been bribed by Barcelona. I know that the Catalan media's vilification of me is not a short-term thing. Of course, they would love to see me make a fool of myself. The twisting of right and wrong, and fabrications about the world, are a common occurrence in the media. So, now, do you know where the nonsense came from? If the Catalan media is unhappy with my comments, I am willing to take responsibility. I will cite all the media comments I made after that game. I have collected them." At this point, Twain laughed again.

"But those are considered evidence, and I'll only show them to the UEFA. They'll know who started this whole thing, and it's not me, anyway." Twain shrugged.

The interview ultimately received a good response after it was broadcast on television. Brosnan's article was reprinted by several newspapers. Twain had achieved his purpose. At the very least, a lot of the media and public were now on his side.

After he had made these preparations, Twain left for Nyon alone. Before he left, his wife, Shania, specially called him from the United States to support and comfort him.

All these things gave Twain the confidence to tackle this pitfall.

At the same time, the club also took action. They presented the UEFA with a video of the last ten minutes of the first-leg match between Nottingham Forest and Barcelona, as evidence to support Twain and to show that he was not taking a shot in the dark. His team had indeed been treated unfairly in the away game. If the UEFA was unwilling to admit that the penalty shot had issues, they said, they did not mind appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Anyway, since they were going to mess with their manager, the team would fight them to the end!

Twain leading the team into the top four also appeared to have improved his relationship with the club's top brass. Evan decided to step forward to show support for Twain, and Allan was also ordered to lobby the UEFA's top echelon.

The Forest team's semifinal spot in the Champions League had a direct impact on their televised bonuses at the end of the season. Twain was a manager who could lead the team to victory, and, naturally, it would bring a lot of money to the club. Only a fool would not protect such a cash cow.

Meanwhile, a lot of people in the league's circle had come out to express their support for Twain's view. Mourinho, who never got along with Twain, also seemed to have seen glimpses of himself in the man, and also came forward and said that the Catalan media's hype about "counting money" was pointless. As a former Barcelona translator and assistant coach, his words held sway.

Ferguson also said that he had not heard Twain complain that Barcelona had bribed the referee. He reasoned, "he's not that kind of person."

Wenger said that, although Tony had a sharp tongue, he would never talk about unverifiable things.

Benítez's relationship with Twain was not good, either; but, this time, he chose to stand on the opposite side of his country. He thought, since he had encountered Twain many times before, that he was familiar with Twain's temper. If Twain said that he did not say it, then, according to Benítez, he must not have said it.

This time, the Premier League managers were on Twain's side. Perhaps the UEFA's attitude towards the Premier League had angered them. The English Premier League had long been an organization that fell outside of the grey area on the edge of the UEFA's jurisdiction. The Premier League gave the UEFA its biggest headaches in terms of people and incidents.

They naturally assumed that the UEFA's beef with Twain was actually an attempt to make an example of Twain in order to warn them. It seemed obviously necessary to unite. After all, the interests of the Premier League were their own interests. These problems were, in fact, about "interests" at their heart.

Led by John and Bill, the Nottingham Forest fans also gathered at the City Ground stadium to show solidarity with Twain at the time of the hearing. They contacted a number of media outlets to come in for interviews and do coverage, so as to continue to expand their impact.

"We're fighting a battle to defend our kingdom!" John said resolutely in front of a lot of media and cameras.

All of these people were completely happy to put pressure on the UEFA.

No one knew the details of the hearing, but one thing was clear to everyone:

The moment Twain got out of the car and greeted the reporters outside the UEFA headquarters with a smile, an observant person could see that his grin was somewhat stiff. The Ray-Ban sunglasses that he wore—he was now the brand's British spokesperson—still could not hide his worries.

Despite all the preparations he had made, he was still a little nervous.

But, after two hours, when he came out of the headquarters building, he took off his sunglasses and gave a breezy smile. There was no hidden meaning behind it. He smiled naturally, from the bottom of his heart.

Every reporter present was familiar with Twain and certainly knew what his behavior meant.

The Catalan reporters groaned in pain on the spot. "The b*stard got away with it!"

The reporters from Nottingham and England cheered for Twain, who happily waved to them. He willfully enjoyed the sort of celebration usually reserved to welcome a hero's return.

Afterward, a UEFA press spokesman reappeared in front of the press to announce the final verdict of the case: "While we think that Tony Twain's remarks toward the referee was a little extreme after the game, there is no evidence that he questioned the referee's and Barcelona's professional ethics. He gave a reasonable explanation for his actions at the hearing, which we have accepted. Finally, we want to remind Tony Twain to pay attention to his words and deeds..."

Brosnan asked about the referee and his handling of the penalty.

The UEFA spokesman stalled for a long while before he replied, "That offside ball was a miscalculation ...for which we are sorry."

At that point, Tony Twain and Nottingham Forest had won big.

The next day, the Catalan media all more or less adopted the same headline, which roughly translated to:

"A scoundrel realized his ambition."

Indeed, in their eyes, Twain was a despicable scoundrel who had managed to escape twice. Just look at his brilliant smile in front of the UEFA's Nyon headquarters, they thought. He's a typical scoundrel who got away!

A hardcore Barcelona fan tweeted a similar message at a popular Barcelona fan forum in China:

"It's truly the case that the good die young (i.e., Barcelona was knocked out) and the evil live a thousand years..."