Chapter 5 The Fifth Update Is Here. If You Enjoy It, Please Vote! There Are Only A Few Days Left This Month!

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The whole thing was a huge sensation. Those who supported Chen Hero were all speaking out on his behalf, while those who criticized him could only vent their anger at Chen Hero’s lack of grace. They didn’t dare publicly say that Chen Hero didn’t deserve the award. Fans all over the world had a scale in their hearts. How could they allow them to talk nonsense?

They could only sourly say, "If Hero wasn't so ungracious, I believe most of the public opinion would be on his side..."

"Just because of his ungracious performance, I think it’s fortunate that he didn’t get the award..."

"Hero's approach was ill-considered. This is not what a mature player should do. Even more frightening, this was broadcast live. He set a terrible example for children all over the world watching TV!"

Chen Hero didn't respond directly to these voices. Instead, his press officer, Vera, refuted them. Everyone knew that Vera's words were actually what Chen Hero wanted to say, but sometimes, to avoid trouble, he would take a roundabout route...

Chen Hero was generally not afraid of causing trouble for himself, but considering that the club had to clean up the mess he made, he considerately used a press officer.

"Hero has adhered to his own style since birth. He is already twenty-three years old this year. Regardless of which country's laws are followed, he is already an adult, so he doesn't need others to tell him how to live his life. If possible, he hopes that those people will first educate their own children and maintain their own lives… Through this incident, Hero has set an excellent example for the children in front of the TV—that is, to tell them never to succumb to power and to dare to stand up and resist authority when faced with injustice. When those in power try to use their power to oppress you, be brave enough to say to them..."

Vera paused here. This was probably the first time she had sworn in public. But Chen Hero repeatedly told her that she had to read it verbatim, otherwise, it would lack momentum and effect.

"Be brave enough to say to them… 'Fuck you!'"

The swear word came out of Vera's mouth, and it always had a special flavor when read in Vera's crisp and pleasant voice...

The reporters at the scene looked at each other in an uproar.

"He... he believes that children who grow up with this belief are ten thousand times stronger than those obedient children who only know how to blindly follow!"

Vera used this press release to slap those who clamored that Chen Hero was ungracious, impolite, and would teach children badly.

Liverpool Football Club also issued an official statement, expressing surprise at the results of the FIFA Ballon d'Or selection, congratulating Messi, and also saying that Chen Hero was more deserving of the award...

Some busybodies also ran to Barcelona to interview Messi and the Barcelona club, wanting to hear their reactions to this matter.

Messi cleverly didn't talk about it. He knew that this matter was no longer a conflict between him and Chen Hero. This was already Chen Hero's grievance with FIFA... He was completely shot while lying down. At this time, he had to firmly shut up. Silence is golden. Don't lead the war to yourself, otherwise, the loss would outweigh the gain.

Messi kept his mouth shut, and the Barcelona club also made no comments on this. However, they planned to have Messi display the three Ballon d'Or awards before their next home game as a sign of support for Messi's award...

The other players in Barcelona were not so polite.

Alves, Busquets, and Piqué successively left messages on their respective Twitter accounts, supporting Messi's award, saying that Messi is the most outstanding player in football today, and that his award is well-deserved and undisputed.

As for Chen Hero... such an ungracious person is simply a disgrace to our football players. We are ashamed to be with him!

They also didn't talk about whether Chen Hero was wronged for not winning the award...

Chen Hero responded on his Twitter: "Aha? They are ashamed to be with me? This is the best news I've heard in the last two days! I finally don't have to worry about being compared with them. I am a football player, and I use football to pursue victory. I don't want to be with a group of actors!"

Alves immediately retorted on Twitter: "Yes, yes, you use flying tackles to seriously injure your opponents to pursue victory! You use elbows to break your opponents' nasal bones to pursue victory! You really love victory so much!"

Chen Hero opened the map cannon: "I am full of admiration for Barcelona. This is a very great team. They have created a series of glorious histories. They are one of the symbols of Spanish football. This team was born in 1899 and died in 2008."

2008 was the year when Guardiola started coaching the team. Since then, many controversial things have happened to Barcelona. Even if they win more championships, it seems that they cannot stop the outside world's controversy over their diving, acting, arrogance, and conceit...

Suarez also supported his friend on Twitter: "Alves better shut up. This matter has nothing to do with him, but he must come out to show off. That is just asking for trouble!"

Cassano was naturally on Chen Hero's side: "I know Hero very well. He is not the kind of arrogant person. He just can't control his temper... But, if you ask me, I would be very upset about this matter. I believe that many runners-up would be dissatisfied when they lose the championship in this way. It's just that many people can only endure their resentment and force a smile to show grace. But Hero's approach is not wrong. He is a person who says what he wants to say. Why can't he directly express his thoughts? The only difference between him and countless runners-up is that he chose to express it on the spot, while everyone else acted like cowards..."

Arshavin: "You can use morality to question him, but before that, please think about the anger in the heart of a wronged person—in my opinion, Hero should be the winner of the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or. Apart from him, no one is qualified to win this award. To be honest, I was very, very surprised when I saw the result on TV, and then I had the same feeling as Hero. For this reason, our family changed a TV the next day..."

Liverpool coach Dalglish naturally strongly supported his disciple: "Hero did the right thing. When you are treated unfairly, you must speak out, otherwise the whole world will think you are easy to bully, and then more unfair treatment will come to you. Hero resists injustice. Why are some people still criticizing him? I think those people must have had their heads caught in the door..."

Other football people, whether club managers, coaches, or players, as long as they are in this circle, were all dragged in. They expressed their views on this matter through Twitter, interviews, etc. Some supported Chen Hero, some opposed Chen Hero, and of course, there were some purely soy sauce-playing centrists.

It seemed that the world football scene had not been so lively for a long time... During this period, fans and the media were simply like celebrating the New Year, with new comments emerging every hour.

This made people who continued to pay attention to this matter shout with satisfaction...

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While everyone was arguing, they had not forgotten the main thing—what kind of reaction would FIFA make?

As the person involved, FIFA, which was slapped in the face by Chen Hero and questioned by the media for their fairness and professionalism due to the unexpected selection results, was always in the spotlight.

After the awards ceremony, Blatter was stopped by reporters, and everyone wanted him to talk about this sudden event.

"I regret Hero's approach... We will send the Silver Ball trophy to Liverpool. This is what he deserves..." The old fox's answer was impeccable, without any handle for the media to seize, and also expressed FIFA's generosity—look, you angered us, but we didn't say we wouldn't give you the award!

If everyone thought that FIFA was really magnanimous, that a prime minister's belly could support a boat, then they would be wrong!

A day later, FIFA made their punishment decision on Chen Hero—a fine of 100,000 euros and a six-game ban from national team matches. It also publicly stated that the FIFA Ballon d'Or selection was authoritative, credible, and professional.

The basis for their punishment of Chen Hero was not Chen Hero's sudden departure—although the sudden departure was very ungracious, it was personal freedom, and they were not qualified to punish Chen Hero on this basis. They punished Chen Hero for what he said to reporters after he went out, which "seriously damaged FIFA's reputation."

This was completely a cover-up. FIFA's reputation didn't need Chen Hero to damage it... They had already damaged it a lot.

As for whether the FIFA Ballon d'Or selection was fair and professional, this matter... everyone knew it very well. A selection in which votes could be arbitrarily tampered with had no fairness to speak of. Anyway, if FIFA continued to play like this, I'm afraid no one would care about FIFA's selection in the future. UEFA has already established a new base, creating a "UEFA Ballon d'Or." Who knows if *France Football* will regret cooperating with FIFA—being recruited by FIFA did not bring any benefits, but instead caused a lot of trouble. It was really not worth the loss! If *France Football* also withdraws again and creates a "France Football Ballon d'Or"... where would FIFA's face be?

The amount of the fine for this punishment was very large, but the media scoffed at FIFA's response—so spineless, they chickened out at a critical moment. It must be because FIFA knew they were in the wrong!

Why did they think FIFA chickened out? Because the fine was too light for Chen Hero. Was 100,000 euros a lot? Chen Hero could take out ten times that amount at any time... He doesn't lack money now!

As for the ban on national team matches—Chen Hero doesn't play for the Chinese national team at all now. Not only China, but no other national team has him. He doesn't participate in national team matches at all. What are you banning for six games? Even if he was banned for sixty games, Chen Hero probably wouldn't care!

FIFA explained that the ban would be enforced from the time Chen Hero has a national team match. But given the tense relationship between Chen Hero and the Chinese Football Association, who knows when he will be able to serve the country?

For only 100,000 euros, he slapped FIFA in the face and scolded FIFA. This was simply too cost-effective...