Female football official ‘pushed and harassed†by referee coach, tribunal told | Referees

A leading official has told a tribunal that a football referee coach “forcefully pushed her†and that his behaviour was influenced by her gender. Lisa Benn, 34, claims she was harassed and unfairly lost her position as an international referee after raising a complaint.

The Womenâ€s Super League official had complained that she was manhandled on a pitch in 2023 by Steve Child, a Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) coach and former Premier League assistant referee.

Giving evidence to a south London employment tribunal on Monday, she alleged Child also told her “your card has been markedâ€. A PGMO investigation found Childâ€s behaviour did not meet the threshold for disciplinary action.

Benn alleges that the organisationâ€s chief refereeing officer, Howard Webb, and his wife, Bibiana Steinhaus-Webb, who was then its head of womenâ€s referees, said she would not be punished for coming forward. However, she wrote in her witness statement that, after her complaint, PGMO did not recommend her as highly as they had previously done. Benn claimed that this cost her a prestigious place on Fifaâ€s international referee list.

A PGMO-organised tournament took place to train staff on VAR, which was not yet used in the womenâ€s game, on 29 March 2023. The schedule was delayed by a serious injury and Benn said that Child adopted a leadership role but “was flustered, he was stressed, he was charging around all over the placeâ€.

Benn alleges that the coach grabbed her arm and “forcefully pushed†her on to the pitch. She accepted that Child said “something along the lines of ‘come on letâ€s goâ€â€ to speed up the start of the game, and said she responded by putting her palm up and telling him to “chillâ€.

Jesse Crozier, for PGMO, put to her: “In saying ‘come on letâ€s goâ€, he would have put his arm behind you and ushered you on to the pitch at the same time.â€Benn rejected the claim, saying: “That is definitely not what happened.â€

The “temperature was high†during the match and Child instructed a fourth official, Ruby Sykes, to tell Benn to “kill the gameâ€, the tribunal heard. This prompted Benn to say “donâ€t tell me how to referee†and “fuck offâ€, which was directed at Child but spoken through a communications system to Sykes, the panel was told.

Benn said: “Iâ€ve never had somebody shout down the comms to tell me how to referee – I am a trusted referee, I referee at the highest level, this was an under-19s game.â€

She said: “He felt superior, he felt like he could come on and tell me how to referee, he manhandled me on to the field of play – he would never have done that to a male referee.â€

Crozier put to her: “You appear to take umbrage at the refereeing coach giving you coaching directions while you were refereeing.â€

Benn said: “It was a distraction because, as you mentioned, the game was difficult, the game was challenging – there was a lot going on in the game that required my attention.â€

Benn said she was also adjusting to “new VAR principles†that were unfamiliar to her. She became emotional as she later told the panel: “He made me feel inferior, as a referee and as a human being, and thatâ€s not OK.â€

Asked if she had seen him act in that way to other referees, she said: “I have to female referees, yes. I havenâ€t to male referees.â€

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The official said there was a “mass brawl†at the end of the game triggered by one player head-butting another.

She said Child then grabbed her arm and told her “your card has been marked†and “youâ€re bloody-mindedâ€. She added: “He was so angry his eyes were bulging out of his head.â€

Benn accepted that in response she “shouted ‘what is your problem?†in his direction. “He didnâ€t turn around, he just walked off,†she said.

Crozier put to her: “If you had been dragged, grabbed and pushed at a training tournament with dozens and dozens of people, someone would have seen it.â€

She said there would have been video recordings of the event but she has not seen any. The barrister said that such an incident “would have been noticed, would it not?†She said: “No, I disagree.â€

The tribunal continues.

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