𝑳amine 𝒀amal

The whistle blew loud and clear, bringing the match to a complete halt

You stepped closer to see what had happened and saw Laporte clutching his right foot while still lying on the ground; then, you looked directly at Lamine

When Lamine saw the look in your eyes, he knew he had really messed up

---

You accepted the email offer to referee a La Liga match

You thought you’d be assigned to a team on your scheduled day, but you never imagined it would be the match where your boyfriend was playing

That’s why, when Lamine saw you on the pitch, he stared at you for several seconds, trying to process the whole situation in record time

In fact, you told yourself many times that you wouldn't favor any team—not even because Lamine played for Barcelona—and that you would remain completely impartial

And that meant being impartial with the players

And that included Lamine, too

---

Barcelona was playing against Athletic Club; they were winning 1–0 thanks to a goal scored by Raphinha

The first half had already reached the 45-minute mark, but you decided to add three more minutes because you saw the guys were fired up—and maybe they wanted to score another goal

The ball landed right at Lamine's feet, and he didn't hesitate to sprint toward the goal, wanting either to score for his team or to set someone else up to do so

But the opposing players weren't going to make it that easy; Laporte was one of them, stepping in front of Lamine to stop him from advancing up the field

Lamine tussled with Laporte for a moment, trying to get the player to make way so he could execute the move he had in mind, but Laporte simply wouldn't let him

In a sudden movement—perhaps born of desperation—Lamine gave Laporte a slight shove, causing him to stagger; Lamine seized the moment to steady himself, but without realizing it, he took a bad step

He hear his opponent let out a groan of pain; that was when he heard the whistle blow and saw you approaching

At that moment, Lamine realized that the idea might have sounded better in his head, but when it came to executing it, it didn't turn out the way he had expected

---

Athletic's medical team was examining Laporte's foot, as that same foot had been struck by Xavi just minutes earlier

Meanwhile, Lamine was trying to reason with you; for while he had an immense desire to hug you, he knew he couldn't, as both of you had a role to fulfill

You simply watched him with your arms crossed as you listened to Lamine explain that he had been going for the ball, rather than intentionally going after Laporte

Meanwhile, the other players from both teams had gathered in the area—the Barcelona players to try to reason with you or the other players, and the Athletic players to check on their teammate

Lamine looked at you with soft eyes, trying to make you believe him; when he saw no reaction from you, he could no longer maintain his professional player persona

"Darling, please, i didn't mean to do it on purpose...Don't give me a yellow card" — He murmured it so only you could hear; he knew he shouldn't call you that, but he simply couldn't help himself.