Chapter 354: Chapter 353 I Personally Refuse to Participate in All UEFA Competitions
"Lisbon Athletic will lodge a complaint to UEFA and invite a professional body to review the refereeing of this match. Like Barcelona’s fans, you too will pay for your actions!"
Furious beyond measure, Deng Kai paradoxically calmed down, offering Gandour an intimate greeting in his mother tongue, Arabic.
He then strode away, planning to join Pepe in the VVVIP viewing area of the players’ tunnel to continue watching the match.
Deng Kai walked past that severed pig’s head.
As luck would have it, the pig’s head, having bounced off an advertising board, landed on the pitch’s grass, bearing the Barcelona crest.
The victors walked tall, while the vanquished were the real swine.
This scene was captured by numerous journalists.
Then came the next three minutes... yes, Gandour granted Barcelona a full three minutes.
Had it not been for Maxa grabbing the fourth official by the neck and delivering a familial greeting through his walkie-talkie, Gandour might not have even bothered to end the game.
The original five minutes of added time, despite Deng Kai’s goal and celebration, the issuing of cards, had at most consumed one and a half minutes.
Yet when Gandour blew to stop the game, the added time had stretched to nine minutes.
In the realm of match manipulation, Gandour shone as brightly today as did Deng Kai’s performance.
On this matter, Gandour expressed there was nothing he could do, Barcelona had simply offered too much.
When the final whistle blew, Deng Kai and Pepe returned to the pitch, and all members of Lisbon Athletic celebrated on the field.
Deng Kai led all the players towards the sparse crowd of Lisbon Athletic fans for a collective grass-slide plunge!
This gesture pushed the fury at a cloud-covered Nou Camp to its limit.
The thunderstorm was upon them.
Most of Barcelona’s fans who hadn’t left began a furious outburst, hurling abuse at the Lisbon Athletic players continuously.
Even extreme fans jumped down from the stands, aiming to physically assault Deng Kai and the other players.
Security struggled to restrain these extremists and signaled for the Lisbon Athletic players to swiftly exit the field.
Escorted by numerous security guards, Deng Kai and others safely left the pitch.
However, a throng of reporters had already accumulated at the mouth of the players’ tunnel.
They were desperate for the freshest scoop.
Seeing that the area was now free from fan interference, Deng Kai stopped to give an interview.
Reporter: "Deng Kai, before the game, did you think you could knock out Barcelona? You’ve led Lisbon Athletic to the Europa League final, setting a new record for the club in this competition and also becoming the only team from the Portuguese league to reach this stage in the last decade!"
Deng Kai nodded: "Of course! After we beat Inter Milan, I already knew that no team in the Europa League could stop us. Barcelona, least of all."
Reporter: "Why is that? You seem to have a poor impression of Barcelona?"
Deng Kai: "It’s not that I have a poor impression, I just have a rightful view on all unreasonable on-pitch performances. Today’s match was tough, reminding me of our game against Inter Milan."
"But the difference is, Inter Milan lost standing up, while Barcelona... lost kneeling."
Reporter: "Uh... but we thought Barcelona played threateningly. If not for your last-minute goal, it might have been you who were eliminated. Why do you say they lost kneeling?"
Deng Kai: "They didn’t literally kneel before us, but they knelt to the referee instead, otherwise I can’t explain today’s decisions by referee Gandour!"
Hiss hiss hiss!
Deng Kai actually blasted the referee.
As everyone knows, organizations like UEFA and FIFA really despise it when players, coaches, or teams challenge the referee’s authority.
There is a small reason for this that indeed stems from the integrity of the game.
The more you challenge, the more the official authority is undermined.
But perhaps a bigger reason is that these organizations prefer the principle of "I direct my story," "you play your game," "he sets his odds," with each keeping to their own.
Deng Kai’s last comment might have crossed the line.
"Deng Kai, how do you view the demonization by many media outlets in European football?" inquired a reporter from Record Report, hoping to steer the conversation in another direction.
Given Record Report’s close relationship with Deng Kai, and this reporter being a colleague of Jiang Yunzhu, he knew to maintain Deng Kai’s public image.
Originally, it was an interview conducted by him and Jiang Yunzhu, but Jiang Yunzhu suddenly left during the second half of the game.
"How are they demonizing me?" Deng Kai was very curious.
Reporter: "They say you have numerous privileges at Sporting Lisbon, where you can send first-team players down to the reserves and promote your friends from the youth academy to train with the first team."
"They also said you could even participate in Sporting Lisbon’s transfer affairs, having a certain right to speak and make suggestions."
"They call you a tyrant on the field, claiming you don’t need to train according to the coach’s demands. You often force your teammates to train extra with you, even if they have other important matters they can’t leave."
"You’ve also monopolized the team’s gym, where three of the machines have become exclusively yours, and no one else dares touch them."
These comments also made the other reporters around turn their heads.
Could Deng Kai really be this domineering?
This wasn’t just privilege anymore.
It was like he was an emperor!
Many reporters no longer wanted to hear Deng Kai’s explanation; they were thinking up sensational headlines to attract eyes and vie for traffic.
Deng Kai laughed, "If this is all there is, I think the European media haven’t demonized me enough, what they’re saying is just the tip of the iceberg."
The reporters nodded, then did a double-take.
What... what is Deng Kai saying?
Is he admitting to it?
Deng Kai: "In fact, there’s much more to my being ’demonized’. I hope the European media will learn more from the North American paparazzi and England’s The Sun Newspaper; they’re very good at digging up news."
"You must see even more of my ’demonized’ side so that I can be portrayed as a villain everyone wants to strike down. Just these accusations? They’re far from enough."
The reporters were going mad.
Why was Deng Kai so arrogant?
Didn’t he know that once branded as a team bully, his market value would plummet?
Many teams would refuse to buy him because of that in the future.
He would encounter many problems when blending into a new team.
Don’t underestimate these issues; they could turn a superstar into a flop.
Reporter: "Alright, I believe that after today, many journalists will be eager to dig into your stories, and we might soon see a fully demonized version of you."
"So, can you talk about your future with the team? Like the finals or something?"
Deng Kai: "It’s too early to talk about the finals."
Reporter: ???
Deng Kai: "I believe that at this moment, everyone at Sporting Lisbon is hoping that UEFA will give us an explanation for the decisions made during this game!"
"A match like this destroys the credibility of European football."
"Until a referee like Gandour is clearly punished, I personally refuse to participate in any competition under UEFA!"
!!!
Insanity!
This time the reporters truly lost their minds!
What was Deng Kai doing?
Challenging UEFA?
Threatening UEFA?
Did he even qualify?
Did he know his own limits?
However, the next moment, two figures entered the frame, standing beside Deng Kai.
