Fantastic news article:
Players and fans alike were left feeling as sick as a parrot during a Hertfordshire Senior Centenary Trophy tie, which descended into farce thanks to the attendance of an exotic bird.
Referee, Gary Bailey was forced to make the extraordinary decision to send parrot ‘Me-Tu’ – who often watches matches from the confines of his cage – from the touchline during a tense cup tie between Hatfield Town and Hertford Heath, after the feathered friend persistently imitated the man in the middle’s whistle.
The Senegalese bird’s actions continually forced players from both sides to stop play, resulting in the parrot’s owner, 66-year-old Irene Kerrigan, being asked to take the bird away.
“I’ve never known anything like it in my career,” Bailey told Metro. “It was a big game and there were quiet a lot of people there. “Every time I blew my whistle, the bird made the same sound. The players all stopped so I had to ask to move the parrot to the stands. I’ve sent a few people off in my time but never a parrot.”
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