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final

It was the game the entire country had been waiting for. The football cup final brought the two leading teams in the country head to head.

On one side of the field, the "Patriots" team warmed up in their black jerseys, and on the other side, the "Yoke Bearers" footballers in their green jerseys exchanged passes between them.

"The Patriots" in a final briefing • Creating AI - Yoram Katz
"The Patriots" in a final briefing • Creating AI – Yoram Katz

The coaches

On the lines stood the two experienced coaches, watching their trainees. Benji, the most decorated coach in the country, watched his trainees train on the grass, the late afternoon sun lovingly caressing his purple hair, arranged in a neat "loan and savings" hairstyle. Next to him stood Reev and Medon, the fitness trainer Hamutz Hasbar.

The assistant coach, Mr. Bish, was running around the field, giving instructions to the players and the principled goalkeeper Gidi, waving his hand amiably every few minutes in the direction of the purple-haired head coach, hoping that he would appreciate his efforts. The coach barely noticed him.

On the other side of the field stood Mr. Lebarak, stroking his wild beard and lost in thought. Lebarak was once the top scorer and considered the most senior footballer in the country. Years after he retired, he was called upon to fill the coaching position, in which he was less experienced. Every now and then he raised his head and examined the performance of his players training on the pitch. He did not look pleased.

"The Issues" in a Final Briefing • Creating AI - Yoram Katz
"The Bearers of the Yoke" in a final briefing • Creating AI – Yoram Katz

Already starting

The match referee was warming up on the touchlines. The trio of VAR judges, led by the chief referee, took their seats behind the monitors in the air-conditioned room above the grandstand. In the press box, the sportscasters and commentators analyzed the team lineups. In the stands, fans in black and green shirts sat and growled at each other. Everything was ready for the grand opening. The problems began even before the opening whistle.

Immediately after the referee placed the game ball on the halfway point, the Patriots’ fitness trainer came running. He picked up the ball and dropped it into a bag he had brought with him. To the referee, who tried to protest, the man explained that this ball had been promised to him in advance as a donation to the Beitar Netzarim soccer team.

The referee asked for a new ball, but then it turned out that all 20 balls prepared by the association had been confiscated by the Patriots’ old man’s storekeeper, claiming that they were only a small part of the balls that had been promised to him for the benefit of soccer schools in Bnei Brak. Only after the intervention of the association’s president, who came down from the stands, was a compromise reached, and the storekeeper agreed to give up one ball until the end of the game.

The Storekeeper • Creating AI - Yoram Katz
The Storekeeper • Creating AI – Yoram Katz

The game begins

The referee placed the ball on the halfway point and blew the whistle. With the opening whistle, the “Patriots” attacked the “Yoke Bearers.” The “Patriots” were mostly players lacking technique, chosen primarily for their ability to kick the opponent’s legs.

The “Yoke Bearers” played more sophisticated football, but had difficulty coping with the “Patriots’” fighting spirit, and especially with their tendency to freely kick the legs of anyone who stood in their way.

In the 10th minute, Patriots defender D. Corleone slid forward with his feet, and stuck the corks of his right shoe completely over the ankle of the captain and central striker of the “Bearers.” A sharp whistle was heard.

A crime? • Creating AI - Yoram Katz
A crime? • Creating AI – Yoram Katz

The referee raced to the scene, his hand reaching into his back pocket. He arrived seconds before the medical team arrived with the stretcher. The referee pulled out the red card, waved it at the beefy Corleone, and directed him out.

But no one like Corleone would take petulant orders from a judge. He turned to him and informed him that he was not prepared to take orders from a "legal scoundrel." To reinforce the message, the Patriots' masseur began to riot on the lines, screaming "Cocorico!"

The Patriots fans in the stands began to go wild. The game was about to explode.

the savior

The one who saved the situation was the president of the Football Association, who leapt from the box of honor and descended onto the grass. First, the president asked everyone to calm down. Then he turned to the referee, asking him to reach a compromise with the player.

The referee didn't understand what exactly he could compromise on. "A foul involving a cork stuck above the ankle of an opposing player requires a red card. Period. That's what the law says," he explained to the president. He led him to the stretcher where the injured player lay, and showed him the bloody marks of three corks just below the player's knee. "How can you be sure it wasn't the striker who hit the defender's boot with his ankle?" the president asked.

The judge looked at him strangely.

"I'm not convinced this law is balanced," the president said. "We'll try to find a compromise. Let me handle this."

Coach Benji, who arrived at the scene, also asked the president to reach a compromise. "It is impossible for the judge to impose his opinion on all of us," he declared, "This is an undemocratic act."

The president went up to the podium to consult with the Football Association representatives who were sitting there, and returned a few minutes later with a clarification. "To issue a red card, you have to step on at least four traffic jams," he informed the referee, "here there are only three – you can settle for a yellow, if you really have to."

"I don't know of such a law," said the judge.

"It's not your fault," the president reassured him, "It's an amendment to the law that the association representatives just enacted."

The referee shrugged and gave Corleone a yellow card.

Meanwhile, the bearded captain of the “bearers” managed to get back on his feet. He limped menacingly towards the referee. When he reached him, he waved his clenched fists like a professional boxer, expressing his fierce protest.That's really not nice of you!" he said with his characteristic firmness, and limped back to his seat with demonstrativeness.

The crowd of fans of the "Hanoshaim" protested vigorously and waved protest signs. The incident would have gotten out of control, if not for the resourcefulness of the marshal's manager, who sent horsemen on horseback into the "Hanoshaim" stands, who ran over several fans and whipped others. The marshals who were sent to help also did their part by throwing stun grenades into the crowd, until it finally calmed down, allowing the game to continue.

Goal!

Just before the halftime whistle, Patriots right winger Shlomo-Ker received a ball on the edge of the box. He burst into the box and kicked a tremendous ball into the right corner of the “HaNoshaim” goal. Goalkeeper Avigdor leaped but couldn’t reach the ball.

The Patriots' stands rose into the air. Flares were lit, and for about two minutes nothing could be seen or heard except the cheering of the fans. Only after the smoke cleared did the crowd realize that the away flag had been raised, and the referee disallowed the goal.

Different? • Creating AI - Yoram Katz
Different? • Creating AI – Yoram Katz

The Patriots players surrounded the referee, claiming selective enforcement. Under pressure, the referee agreed to consult with the VAR team. However, the VAR judges had nothing to say against the decision, as the camera caught the Patriots winger about a meter behind the Bears defense as the ball was passed to him.

Coach Benji, who arrived, claimed that the VAR team was biased and that he had no confidence in its rulings. The hard-working masseuse also arrived and firmly stated that the video clip that "proves" the dissenter's claim was created by AI.

There is no telling where all this would have gone if the president of the association had not taken to the field again, shown leadership, and asked the sides to calm down.

"At moments like these," said the state president, "we must see the good of the audience. Our strength is in our unity, and differences of opinion must be resolved in a balanced manner." He went back up to the stands to consult with the members of the association and the members of the referees' association. After a few minutes, he returned to the field and addressed the referee.

"The law of distinction does not apply to players whose initials are Shkar."

"Where did you get that?" the judge wondered, "I don't know of such a law!"

"This is a law that was just approved by the union."

"But that really doesn't make sense," the judge argued.

The president looked at him with a look reserved for those who are difficult to understand. "What's not understood here?" he wondered, "This is a minor amendment to the separate law, and it only applies when it comes to the private sector."

The referee wanted to answer, but had trouble finding the words. Instead, he put the whistle in his mouth and blew for half time.

The first half ended 1:0 for the Patriots.

second half

The second half opened with pressure from the “issuers,” but not much happened until the 80th minute.

At that moment, Bresler, the left winger of the “Noshamim”, noticed that the “Patriots” goalkeeper, Gidi Ish-Principles, was standing far from his goal. Bresler lifted a long, arcing ball over the goalkeeper that left him no chance. The ball would have found the net, but then, at the last second, Tal, the right defender of the “Patriots”, who never trusted his goalkeeper, leapt up and punched the ball away, which was about to land under the goalpost.

The referee whistled for a penalty kick and issued a red card to Tal.

Penalty? • Creating AI - Yoram Katz
Penalty? • Creating AI – Yoram Katz

This was the signal for chaos. Tal, who had no confidence in the referee, refused to leave the field. Bresler threatened civil action. Coach Benny Boom left the lines, rushed inside, and refused to allow the penalty kick against his team, claiming that this was yet another unbalanced decision that undermined confidence in the referee.

In the stands, the president of the association's stately backs were once again detached from their chairs. The president began to make his way onto the field, to ensure the necessary balance that would somehow allow the final whistle to be blown.

But it was already too much for the crowd in the stands. The fence between the two fan camps was breached, and a violent and turbulent commotion began. Some of the “Bearers” fans burst onto the field and tried to remove Benny Boom from there, while a large group of “Patriots” fans chased the referee, chanting slogans referring to his mother’s professional occupation. The referee managed to escape to the locker room with great effort while he still had his breath.

The game exploded.

It was decided to appoint a committee to investigate the events of the game and those preceding it. The only thing left to decide was the composition of the committee.

See you next season. It's not certain that broadcast will be possible, because it looks like the sports channel will be closed.

contact: At watsapBy email

Yoram Katz
Yoram Katz
Graduate of the Israeli hi-tech industry, journalist, writer and blogger. Link to my website and to purchase the books Born in Haifa (1954), studied at Geulah School and Harieli School. Graduated in philosophy and psychology (Hebrew University) and computer engineering (Technion). Books: • "Lethal Scripture" (English) – a historical suspense novel • “Days of Redemption” – childhood stories from the neighborhood of "Redemption"

More articles from the same reporter

2 תגובות

  1. Apart from incitement in all its forms, what do you actually have left?
    Your patriots are a third of the people who don't enlist from left-wing scoundrels in theater, music, and cinema.
    You have nothing to say to them, everything is allowed to them and everything is allowed to you.
    In contrast, 12 percent of the combat soldiers who fall in the war are national religious from Yesha, twice their share in the population – 2%. This figure is hidden because it is inconvenient for incitement.

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