The Slanch Report

We saw recently NBA players get distracted and disoriented by a whistle from the crowd, but during a soccer game in England a similar situation was taken in quite a different direction. While contending for the Hertfordshire Senior Centenary Trophy, which I’m sure is VERY prestigious, the game kept stopping and starting due to a whistle that turned out to be coming from the crowd. This time it wasn’t a fan blowing a whistle though, but a parrot!

Before the game began, the bird had already attracted attention when its owner brought it, in a cage, to the game. During the first half it remained quiet and there were no incidents. However, about 10 minutes into the second half, as Hatfield Town and Hertford Heath continued to battle out on the pitch, the bird started mimicking the ref’s whistle, leading to mass confusion on the field. Ultimately, the game was paused and the woman, and bird, were ejected from the stadium.

The man most affected, referee Gary Bailey had this to say after the game:

I’ve never known anything like it in my football career. It was a big game and there were quite a lot of people there. This woman was standing right by the touchline and suddenly unveiled a big cage with this big green parrot in it. I didn’t mind at first. But then every time I blew my whistle the bird made exactly the same sound. The players all stopped so I had to ask her to move the parrot. It was bizarre. The crowd were all laughing. Looking back I should have made far more of it and got out my red card to show to the parrot.

[The Telegraph]