Referee Claims Male Coach Assaulted Her During Match

A prominent football referee, Lisa Benn, has alleged that she was physically assaulted by a male coach during a match, an incident that she claims has impacted her career as an international referee. Benn, 34, testified at a south London employment tribunal that Steve Child, a coach from the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) and a former Premier League assistant referee, “forcefully pushed her” during a game in March 2023.

Benn’s allegations stem from an incident that occurred during a PGMOL-organised tournament aimed at training staff on the use of VAR (video assistant referee) technology, which had not yet been implemented in women’s football. The match was delayed due to a serious injury, and Benn described Child’s behavior as erratic and flustered as tensions rose on the field. She claims that he grabbed her arm and pushed her onto the pitch, a move she found unacceptable.

During her testimony on March 29, 2023, Benn recounted Child saying, “your card has been marked,” a phrase she interpreted as a threat following her previous complaint regarding his conduct. Benn asserts that after filing her complaint, her standing within PGMOL diminished, costing her a spot on FIFA’s international referee list.

According to Benn, both Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer of PGMOL, and his wife, Bibi Steinhaus-Webb, who was then head of women’s referees, assured her that she would not face repercussions for her complaint. Despite this, Benn alleges that the organization did not recommend her as highly as they had prior to her raising concerns about Child’s behavior.

The tribunal heard that the atmosphere during the match was intense, with Child instructing fourth official Ruby Sykes to tell Benn to “kill the game,” prompting her to respond with frustration. “Don’t tell me how to referee,” she said, adding that she felt undermined in her role. Benn described Child’s assertive approach as one that he would not have directed towards a male referee.

Throughout her testimony, Benn expressed how the encounter affected her sense of self-worth. “He made me feel inferior as a referee and as a human being,” she said, emphasizing that she had not witnessed Child treat male referees in the same manner.

Benn also mentioned a “mass brawl” that erupted at the end of the match, which escalated tensions further. Following this incident, Child allegedly confronted her with anger, an interaction that she found particularly distressing. While Benn acknowledged that there would likely be video recordings of the match, she has not seen any footage of the incident in question.

During the tribunal, Jesse Crozier, representing PGMOL, questioned Benn’s account, suggesting that an incident of such nature would have attracted attention. Benn firmly disagreed, asserting that the dynamics of the match and the actions taken were not as easily observed as Crozier suggested.

As the proceedings continue, the case has drawn attention to the challenges faced by female referees in a predominantly male-dominated sport. The outcome of this tribunal may have broader implications for the treatment of women in officiating roles and the culture surrounding gender dynamics in football.