Who's Not Such A Clever Boy Then?
Supplementary Report To The Hertford Heath v Hatfield Town Match - 17/01/2009
It all started as a typical Saturday afternoon cup match, but the Hertfordshire Senior Centenary Trophy, Quarter-Final tie between Hertford Heath and Hatfield Town had a magical twist in store. Total chaos and confusion disrupted the goal-fest ten minutes into the second half when there appeared to be two whistles blowing. The hilarious incident had the crowd in fits of laughter.
Hertford Heath supporter, Irene Kerrigan had decided to take her Senegal Parrot Me-Tu to the match. The caged bird behaved itself during the first half, being “perched” away from the pitch. All was to change though just ten minutes into the second half when Mrs Kerrigan brought Me-Tu to the touchline to watch the match.
After a goalless first 45, there was all to play for, and as the second half of the match got under way, there was nothing to separate the two sides. Then the whistle blew – and play stopped. There had been neither foul nor injury in this prestigious amateur match, and no one was more surprised to hear the noise than referee Gary Bailey. Confused, Mr Bailey signaled to carry on but the whistle kept blowing. It was clear there was a mischief maker among the 150 strong crowd, and it didn’t take a super-sleuth to work out who the culprit was. When someone called him a “pretty boy”, Mr Bailey, 45, decided enough was enough.
Irene Kerrigan, 66, had taken her nine-year-old bird Me-Tu to the match in his cage as usual so he could get some fresh air. But as she watched, her pet began mimicking the sound of the whistle, distracting the players and causing the match to stop and start repeatedly.
“As he grew in confidence, he even started calling out phrases to the players,” said Mr Bailey, a referee of seven years standing. “I've never known anything like it in all my football career. I got a hell of a shock. 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. It was bizarre. The crowd were all laughing. In the end, there was only one thing for it. I didn’t have a choice – I had to send the bird off because it was ruining the game. Looking back I should have made far more of it and got out my red card to show to the parrot.”
Ted Collie, Hatfield Town’s Chairman, explained: "It was a very tense game as we were 0-0 at the time. When Gary Bailey realized it was this parrot, he started towards it, pointing to the entrance and said “Would you mind leaving?” He said he should have red carded the parrot. I had my grandson with me who's eleven and he thought it was hilarious.” Mr Collie added: “This has put a smile on everyone's face. We didn't think for a minute it was a ploy by Hertford Heath to put us off.” He then went on to say “People bring their pet dogs to football matches, so why not a parrot? I’m not aware of anything in the rule book that covers parrots though, I’ll have to check.”
Despite losing, Hertford Heath’s manager Clive Adlington remained philosophical. “I think because the parrot’s been to our matches so often, it’s picked up how to whistle,” he said. “It's the first time it's actually been whistling though. Suddenly in the second half the whistling started and the players kept stopping. Fortunately it happened in the centre of the pitch but it happened about four times, although it didn't affect the result at all. It was quite comical really, all the lads were looking around after hearing a whistle. I’m not convinced he’d make a very good mascot, mind you.”
Despite Me-Tu’s touchline ban, Mrs Kerrigan, who lives near to the ground, was defiant. ‘He loves football and I’ll bring him back down there again next Saturday for the Reserve Team match,” she said.
Hatfield Town swooped into the semi-final of the Hertfordshire Senior Centenary Trophy beating Hertford Heath 5-2 after extra-time. Maybe Hertford Heath need a decent winger after all.
The story has subsequently become something of a beast, being reported on websites from Wales, Scotland, Ireland and as far away as South Africa and Malaysia. Ted Collie has also now declined numerous approaches from radio stations and TV channels for interviews.
Story Links:
Wales On-Line
Scotland on Sunday
Irish Independent
IOL South Africa
The Malaysian Insider