Chapter 1 UEFA's Ticket

Reporters flocked to the scene, and the cameras of the media were all aimed at the man sitting on the high platform, who was Peter Limacher, the director of the UEFA Disciplinary Committee.

The high platform was full of reporters, and the array of long guns and short cannons exceeded the usual normal UEFA press conference.

The only reason for attracting so many reporters was that this was a press conference on the results of the punishment for the Champions League quarter-final between Napoli and Barcelona at Napoli's home stadium.

Three days had passed since the game between Napoli and Barcelona, and UEFA had changed its usual bureaucratic attitude, conducted the hearing very efficiently, and then made a verdict.

At this time, Napoli was in a fierce battle with Parma at home.

The punishment for the Champions League event would not affect the league of the team's country, so Chen Hero, who was sent off in the Champions League, started this game.

Just before the start of the press conference, the latest news from the Stadio San Paolo was that Chen Hero had already scored twice. Reporters were discussing that Chen Hero was completely venting his anger from being sent off in the Champions League on poor Parma...

After the press conference started, no one paid attention to Chen Hero. Everyone turned their attention to Peter Limacher. Everyone wanted to hear what kind of penalty UEFA would issue. They had all speculated before, but one thing everyone agreed on was that... this penalty would definitely not be light!

"...After listening to all parties' evidence and viewing the game video, we ruled as follows: 1. Napoli player Chen Hero maliciously elbowed Busquets after being sent off with a red card, provoked the referee, and stormed the referee's bench after the game. He is punished with a ban of eight European matches and a fine of 10,000 euros. 2. Napoli coach Mazzarri was rude to the referee and was sent off with a red card, plus an additional game ban, and a fine of 500 euros. 3. Barcelona player Alves dived and will be banned for two games. 4. There were serious management errors at Napoli's home stadium, Stadio San Paolo, which led to fan brawls. Napoli will be fined 20,000 euros and banned from hosting European matches for three games. 5. Barcelona assistant coach Vilanova was fined 200 euros for provoking and participating in the conflict..."

Chen Hero was banned for eight games! This was truly one of the biggest penalties ever issued in UEFA history...

As for the other penalties, they were insignificant compared to this number.

In addition, Alves was banned for two games. Did this mean that UEFA admitted the referee's mistake?

So as soon as Peter Limacher finished reading the penalty decision, the reporters below raised their hands high.

But Peter Limacher did not give them a chance to ask questions and directly announced the end of the press conference...

※※※

The game between Napoli and Parma at Napoli's home stadium ended. The home team narrowly won 3:2 against Parma. Chen Hero scored twice in the game and was a major contributor to the team's victory.

However, the questions that the media stopped him to interview in the mixed zone after the game had nothing to do with this game.

"UEFA has made a penalty decision, Hero!" a reporter shouted.

Chen Hero raised his eyebrows: "Oh? Are they going to ban me for life?"

The reporter smiled helplessly: "That's impossible... UEFA has fined you 20,000 euros and banned you for eight games in European competitions."

Eight games?

Chen Hero was stunned.

The Champions League group stage only has six games in total... These eight games meant that he would miss all six group stage games!

"What about the other results?" His face, which had been happy because he scored two goals, instantly turned gloomy.

"Uh... Mazzarri was banned for two games, Napoli's home stadium was banned for three games, Alves was banned for two games for diving..."

"You said Alves was also banned?" Chen Hero asked.

"Yes, because he dived."

Chen Hero laughed.

"Are you happy that Alves has been punished?" the reporter asked.

Chen Hero shook his head: "No. I just find it funny."

"What do you think of your penalty, Hero?"

Many reporters surrounded Chen Hero, wanting to hear what Chen Hero had to say.

Chen Hero thought for a while and said: "I am more concerned about whether Mr. Platini will especially look forward to Messi scoring more goals, so that he does not have to present me with the Champions League Top Scorer award in the summer—because I guarantee you, he will be very embarrassed at that time."

This answer directly clarified the conflict between him and Platini, as well as UEFA.

The reporters who heard him say this were all excited—there was more breaking news!

However, what Chen Hero said was actually quite right. After scoring three goals in two rounds against Barcelona, his number of goals in this Champions League season had reached ten. Currently, he ranked first in the Champions League scorer list. Messi, who ranked second, relied on a hat-trick in the second round against Napoli to score seven goals. He only needed to score three more goals to surpass Chen Hero and become the top scorer.

There were two semi-finals left in the Champions League. With Barcelona's strength, it seemed no problem to reach the final, counting the final, that would be three games. Scoring three goals in three games? For the current Messi, it was nothing.

So it was indeed possible for Messi to surpass Chen Hero.

Otherwise, if Chen Hero won the Champions League Golden Boot, and Chen Hero, who was severely punished by UEFA, took the stage to receive the award at this summer's Champions League awards ceremony, it was unknown how embarrassing the scene would be... Obviously, UEFA did not like Napoli, nor did they like Chen Hero, this guy with no restraint in his words...

In fact, the feud between the two sides was formed in the group stage game against Lyon.

Platini finally succeeded in killing Chen Hero and Napoli in this season's Champions League. But... was it really killed? Or did he set up an enemy for himself?

Chen Hero turned and left, and the reporters were all overjoyed.

Chen Hero's words first clarified the tense relationship between him and Platini, and secondly, Messi was also shot.

Messi was definitely the most popular attacker in world football today, and Chen Hero? He was also a very good goalscorer. It seemed inevitable that the two would be compared...

Sure enough, the next day, some media ran to ask Messi how he viewed Chen Hero's challenge—the Catalan media regarded Chen Hero's words as a challenge, believing that Chen Hero was very rude.

Messi seemed very calm: "I just want to do my own thing and play my own game. Other people's affairs have nothing to do with me."

The Catalan media praised Messi's master style, polite and graceful, a true gentleman. At the same time, they started to spray Chen Hero with all their firepower. The core idea of ​​various remarks was that Chen Hero was trying to compete with Messi for the Champions League Golden Boot. A person who was eliminated was making wild remarks, which was simply ridiculous. Compared with Messi, you, Chen Hero, are like a firefly competing with the bright moon, overestimating yourself and making a fool of yourself!

So what was Chen Hero's response to this?

"I have no ill feelings towards Messi, because we haven't even spoken to each other. I don't care about him, and I don't know him. I won't make any comments or offenses against him. The reaction of the Catalan media is too intense, because they are too nervous. Whether I can get the Champions League Golden Boot, we just need to wait for three games. So now I don't want to talk nonsense with them."

※※※

In the locker room of the Volturno training base, Chen Hero was expressing his apology to his teammates. Because of his impulsiveness, he would be banned for eight European matches next season. These eight games were likely to be used in the Champions League.

Napoli was currently ranked fourth in Serie A. According to Champions League rules, the fourth place in Serie A needed to play in the qualifying round, starting from the third round. After two qualifying rounds at home and away, if they could win, they would enter the main competition.

Therefore, if Napoli's current league ranking remained unchanged, Chen Hero's ban would last until the end of the group stage. Two European qualifying rounds and the Champions League group stage.

It was really suspicious whether UEFA's decision to ban eight games carefully analyzed Napoli's ranking and the remaining league opponents, and finally came to such a result.

Because if he was suspended for six games, counting the two qualifying rounds, Chen Hero would return in the last two group stage games.

And eight games perfectly blocked Chen Hero's chance to play in the group stage. Through this season's performance, everyone was very clear about Chen Hero's role in Napoli. If he could not play, Napoli might not be able to qualify from the group stage...

Many people expressed this concern after the results of the suspension came out.

Chen Hero was apologizing to his teammates for this matter.

However, everyone did not accept his apology.

"You don't need to apologize, Hero." The team's captain, Paolo Cannavaro, said to him, "If you were taken back to that situation, could you still hold back?"

Chen Hero thought for a while: "I try my best..."

But he himself did not believe what he said, so his voice became smaller and smaller.

Everyone laughed.

"Look, in fact, no matter how many times you do it again, you will still do it. If you don't do it, you are not the Hero we know. And you are not wrong in this matter itself, so you don't need to apologize to us, and we don't accept your apology."

"But missing the entire Champions League group stage..."

"Don't think of us as too incompetent, Hero!" Hamsik stood up. "Without you, we will also reach the top sixteen! Then you come back and fight alongside us! Let the people of UEFA be shocked!"

"Marek is right." Goalkeeper De Sanctis also stood up and said, "We haven't avenged our loss to Barcelona yet, how can we be eliminated in the group stage?" Although he only joined Napoli in winter, this game against Barcelona had completely integrated him into Napoli and produced a feeling of shared hatred.

"That's right, Hero! Just the group stage! Barcelona was beaten so badly by us that they had to rely on diving to advance. What are we afraid of in the group stage?"

The teammates expressed their opinions one after another.

This made Chen Hero very moved, and his uneasy heart was stabilized.

※※※

After UEFA's penalty results came out, it aroused more heated discussions in the media.

And Napoli Club also decided to appeal.

But in fact, everyone knew in their hearts. Even if Napoli Club collected more evidence to appeal, it would be useless. This result was a life sentence. Giving Napoli Club ten days to appeal was just a formality.

No penalty result would be changed due to the appeal.

So Napoli's appeal was just to express an attitude, that is—we will never yield to UEFA's power!

But this was an attitude, whether it was really unyielding... it depended on the game results. In the Champions League next season, in the days when Chen Hero was not there, whether they could really not succumb to fate depended on whether Napoli could really reach the Champions League top sixteen.