华裔足球父亲的愤懑之情

足球作为一项风靡全球的流行运动，不仅深受许多加拿大华人的喜爱，同时也成为其子女热衷的课外活动。而对于立志加盟职业球队的加国青少年来说， 加入青少年足球赛队是他们迈向足球生涯的最佳跳板。但是，在一对华裔父母花费$1600元将儿子送进一个足球俱乐部后，父子二人却遭遇了许多挫败。

Soccer as a world game is not only a favourite sport for many Chinese Canadians, but also makes for a great extra-curricular sport for their children.  Enrolment in a youth soccer league can be a perfect launchpad for Canadian youth who set their sights on professional leagues. But after a pair of Chinese parent spent $1600 to put his son in a soccer club, the father and son faced setbacks and frustrations.


在2015年5月，丹尼斯此前一直在业余球队踢球的的儿子吉米通过选拔测试，得以加盟一个青少年足球联赛代表队。儿子的球队升级让丹尼斯欣喜，他立即开出一张$1600元的支票帮儿子吉米报了名。

In May 2015, Dennis’ son who used to play on a recreational soccer team, passed a try-out and made it onto a rep. team in a youth soccer league. The upgrade made Dennis delighted, who quickly wrote a cheque of $1600 to have his son Jimmy enrolled.


但是出乎丹尼斯意料的是，吉米在加入新团队后并不是很开心。吉米感觉教练并不待见他这个新球员，认为教练待他不公。而丹尼斯在观看儿子的第一场比赛时，也发现吉米坐了90分钟板凳，几乎整场比赛都未上场。丹尼斯原本期望加入新球队能让儿子受益，但结果却事与愿违。丹尼斯发现吉米渐渐失去食欲，变得郁郁寡欢，濒临抑郁症的边缘。于是丹尼斯向俱乐部反映了相关问题，并对教练提出投诉。

But to Dennis’ surprise, Jimmy wasn’t quite happy with the new team. Jimmy felt that as a new player, he wasn’t very welcome or treated fairly by the coach.  As Dennis watched his son’s first game, he found that Jimmy was benched for 90 minutes – almost the entire game.  Contrary to Dennis expectations, the new soccer team didn’t bring the expected benefits to his son, but instead, affected him in a negative way. Dennis noticed that his son lost appetite, became sad and was on the verge of depression. Dennis took the issue with the club and filed a complaint against the coach.


但是据丹尼斯称，在他提起投诉后，吉米在第二天就收到教练发来的一条短信，称其已被球队“开除” ，而理由是其“在赛前5分钟”才到场，而不是“按照规定提前30分钟”到场。短信同时还指责吉米在“多次持续训练”中缺席。

But Dennis said after he filed the complaint, his son received a text message from the coach the next day, telling him that he was “released” from the team, citing reasons that he arrived “only 5 minutes before the game”, instead of “the required 30 minutes”. It also accused his son missing “a lot of continuous practices.”


但丹尼斯否认上述指责，称除了一次训练外，吉米所缺席其他训练都是发生在其正式加盟球队之前。丹尼斯认为儿子被踢出球队是源于教练对其投诉的报复。

Dennis denies the accusation, saying that all the missed sessions, except one, were before his son formally joined the team. Dennis believes that kicking his son out of the team was the coach’s revenge to his complaint.


寻求退款

Seeking refund


按照俱乐部的规定，被球队开除的球员有权获得扣除$50元手续费后的全额退款。但是当丹尼斯要求退款时，他却只拿回$345元，不到全额退款的四分之一。

According to the club rule, a player who was cut from the team is entitled to a full refund less a $50 administration fee. But when Dennis requested for refund, he was offered only less than a quarter of it: $345.


俱乐部的总经理鲍伯认为吉米是自愿退队。他表示，按照俱乐部规定，吉米无权要求退款，但俱乐部破例为其提供了优待。但丹尼斯对这种说法并不买账，因为他儿子是被教练开除出队，因此其有权获得$1550元退款，而不只是区区$345元。

Bob, the general manager of the club believed that Jimmy’s leaving was a voluntary departure. He said that he was entitled to no refund under the club rules, but the club did him a favour by making an exception. But Dennis doesn’t buy that. As his son was released by the coach and cut by the team, he is entitled to a refund of $1550, rather than $345.


丹尼斯因此抱怨俱乐部违反规定，称其将他儿子踢出球队后，又找借口逃避提供全额退款的责任。

Dennis complains that the club broke the rules, alleging it was seeking excuses to evade the responsibilities to offer a full refund, after kicking his son out of the team.


经理：“我建议他加盟业余队”

Manager:  “I offered him a recreational team”


但是丹尼斯的指责似乎并不成立。在《大中报》询问俱乐部总经理鲍伯为什么教练会让吉米坐90分钟板凳后，其答复称“新手整场比赛不上场是很正常的事情”。

Dennis accusation seems not unsubstantiated. When Chinese News asked Bob, the general manager, why the coach sent Jimmy to the bench for 90 minutes, he said that “for a rookie to “not to play the whole game”.


鲍伯称：“他来自业余足球环境，在那里其可以获得稳定上场时间。而在他选择加入更具竞争力的球队，但他却没有这类经验。他和他的父亲对新环境颇感不适。”

“He came from a recreational environment where the time was balanced. He chose to go on a more competitive team, but he has never been on that environment before. He didn’t like it nor did his dad. “


但是吉米的确通过了选拔测试，在俱乐部收取报名费，并决定招募吉米后才入队的。如果在头几场比赛让新手坐板凳属正常之事，那教练似乎也有责任帮助像吉米这样的新球员加强赛场技能，并制定计划逐步增加他们的上场时间。

But Jimmy did pass the tryout. In the end it was the club that took the registration fee and made the decision to recruit Jimmy.  If it isn’t unusual to push a new player to the sidelines during the first few games, the coach may have a responsibility to help rookie player like Jimmy to develop game-required skills, and to create a plan that will gradually extend their play time.


但是在被问及吉米将来是否会有更多上场时间时，鲍伯称其建议“吉米加盟业余足球联盟”，在那里他可以享有“更加宽松的环境”，而这也会使他更为适应。

But after asked whether Jimmy will be given more game time in future, Bob said he offered him to sign up into “the recreational league, where he could play in a “more relaxed environment”, and is more comparable to what he was used to.


很显然，经理已对吉米的足球技能做出裁决。他认为吉米缺乏在比赛球队踢球的技能与潜力，并通过为其提供加盟业余球队的机会将其踢出球队。但如果吉米不够优秀，那俱乐部当初为何还要在其通过选拔测试并缴纳$1600元报名费后，将其招募入队？

Apparently, the manager had made his judgement on Jimmy. He believed that Jimmy lacked both the skills and the potential to play for a competitive team. He cut Jimmy by offering him to join the recreational team. But if Jimmy wasn’t good enough, why did the club recruit him in the first place, after a try-out and $1600 registration fee?


但是，《大中报》提出的这一问题却迟迟未得到俱乐部的答复。鲍伯以一句“我不准备回答你的任何问题”，随即便挂断了电话。面对《大中报》的反复提问 ，以及丹尼斯再三提出的全额退款要求，鲍伯只是通过电邮答复称：“丹尼斯已经获得（$345元）退款……该事件以了结束。”

But the questions raised by Chinese News hit a stonewall. “I am not preparing to answer any questions from you,” said Bob in a phone call before he hung up. In a response to Chinese News’ repeated questions and Dennis repeated requests for full refund, he wrote in an email: “a refund of ($345) has been offered to Dennis... This ends my discussion on the subject.”