In some countries like the USA, it is quite usual to see female officials, but here, especially in the Reading area, women referees are quite rare. Until recently we had just one woman Class 1 officiating up to Isthmian League level but now she has put away her whistle. The few active female referees we do have operate at local league level and often in youth football

Nationally the situation is somewhat better (better, that is, if you believe in female officials) with our most senior woman referee, Wendy Toms, just appointed to run FIFA lines, only one step below becoming a fully-fledged FIFA official.

The situation is changing

The reasons for the dearth of women in refereeing are not too difficult to find. In the States especially, ‘soccer’ is played by both girls and boys from kindergarten up, so there is a huge base to the pyramid from which future officials will be recruited. In the UK, on the other hand, girls’/women’s football has always been a tiny minority interest. Our few female officials have tended to come from football fans, wives of referees, mothers of footballing sons, teachers and just a few ex-footballers

The scene is beginning to change with more girls playing football and more young women coming forward to train. With role models emerging like Wendy Toms the flow is bound to increase.

The decisions are what matters

Are women officials a good thing? Of course. Aside from the fact that the supply of referees is always going to fall short of demand, there is no reason why women, especially those who have played football, should not be as good as their men colleagues. Even players who start sceptical soon appreciate the fact that it is the quality of the decisions that matters, not the gender of the official.

They forget it’s a woman

Problems? The conservatives and cynics can think of a few. How do women cope with the Vinnie Jones’s of this world? Just as a man does - by being a good referee. It’s all about competence and character, about mental, not physical strength. How do they cope with the bad language? Initially, it seems they cope better than men because the players show some deference to a woman in charge. Asked this question one woman referee replied: “It was great. After a few minutes they forgot I was a woman and I had to deal with some bad language. But then the player actually apologised, I guess a male colleague wouldn’t get that!” Do the players try it on? “Some do until they see you know the business” (just as they do with men referees they don’t know).

Shirley Elliott, in her third season of refereeing and editor of the Women in Black section of the referees’ national magazine, Football Referee says this of her own experience: “During the early days of refereeing it was the case of being a raw recruit and teams, along with individual players, taking me for a ride. Nowadays I receive almost total respect and 99% of the games are very enjoyable.”

We obviously need a lot more female referees if they can achieve those standards - well above the national average for men.

Brian Palmer

© B. Palmer 1999

Back To Contents