Shifting to a New Model for Professional Referee Development in the Women’s Game Michael A. Saunders April 02, 2021 Back in late October 2020, Baroness Sue Campbell, the director of women’s football at the English Football Association, emphasized that there is no timeframe for the introduction of full-time professional referees in the women’s game until 2024. Since her comment, the quality of refereeing in the Women’s Super League is still being heavily criticized by players, managers, pundits and of course fans. Numerous errors have been cited from not sending off a player after the issuance of a second yellow card, to the usual complaints regarding missed or incorrect calls or the oft used phrase “…s/he lost control of the game”. As a retired National & Professional official, I want to cut through the noise. What can be done to quick start women as referees to be qualified as “professional” prospects? Consider the following: At WC 2019 in France, the FIFA List of Referees & Assistants indicated that not one English referee out of twenty-seven made the list; and only two AR’s. Yet the English National Team finished as the fourth best in the tournament. Why no English referees at the highest level at the sport’s biggest competition? Were there no qualified FIFA women referees in England? Why not? On this side of the Atlantic, the NWSL has been in existence since 2013 providing a highly competitive woman’s league. Certainly, the fact that the USWNT players were mandated for years to play in the NWSL to even qualify for the NT, made that so. It also attracted some of the top players from around the world such as Little, Henry, Nadim, Sinclair, Marta, etc. Yet once again only one US referee and two AR’s made the WC List. It again begs the question: If the highest quality women’s professional games are being played in certain federations, shouldn’t their officials be utilized on the world’s biggest tournament? The most likely answer is that FIFA spreads the candidate roster over as many Federations as possible. Perhaps those representing those higher ranked member
nations are held to a higher standard. Problem with either approach is that you are not guaranteeing the “best of the best”.
Post WC 2019 and the saga continues. Today, the FAWSL boasts some of the top players in the world playing for its clubs: Kerr, Harder, Mewis, Bronze, Miedema, So-Yun, Eriksson, etc. Consequently, the standard of refereeing in the women’s game has been scrutinized even more. Unfortunately, the criticism has not diminished. Likewise, in the NWSL, players joined that worldwide chorus of frustration expressing their respective criticism of what they saw as poor and inconsistent officiating. Indeed, Ali Krieger in Aug 2019 was scathing in her remarks about officials in the NWSL: “… I beg the league to set the standard higher. It is just unfortunate that you feel like the referees ruin the game. They are taking the fun out of the game because the referees are just not good enough. Male, female, it does not matter. We need good referees.” While the structures of officiating are somewhat different in both countries, they are similar in providing a pathway to reach the highest level. The problem is that below the highest professional tiers in any federation, referees are literally considered amateurs. Here in the USA, those who make it to the NWSL/USL level are still faced with the reality of holding other jobs outside of soccer to make a living. Game fees pay about five times more in MLS than NWSL and USL game fees. The average NCAA Division I soccer game also pays about twice as much as the NWSL/USL level. The stratification structure may have been different in my day, but the reality was the same. According to Referee’s Association chairman Paul Field, the FAWSL commenced with their Referee Development Program for Women in 2017. Yet he opines that the Premier League could still be a decade away from assigning its first female referee. Bottom line: Field believes the domestic English game will continue to pay the price for “…lagging behind the continent when it comes to embracing women's football”.
Currently women face entrenched barriers to quick promotion as referees simply because the system demands “experience”, which in turn, requires time. US Soccer recognizing the complexity of its former nine grade official’s certification system consolidated it into a five-step license program in 2019. The new pathway design aims to clarify a referee’s journey from grassroots to the highest levels of the game, lower the barriers of entry for anyone wishing to participate as a referee and offer all referees more mobility and flexibility in their development. (See https://static.ussdcc.com/users/35665/870590/2021refereereqs-final-ussf-...) Sounds like the perfect solution. Yet as already noted, the results have not necessarily raised the level of the quality at the professional level at a pace fast enough. The reason is simple: it still requires “time” for a person to upgrade their status levels by the stipulated criteria which includes a minimum number of games per level. Well, if a former semi or professional player in her late twenties or early thirties wishes to continue in soccer by becoming an official, does she really need to start at the bottom and work her way up? One must believe that she has the experience to recognize what is a “foul”, “offside”, etc. Beyond absorbing a full understanding of the rules, what is needed is to understand mechanics, game management skills, officials’ teamwork, etc., which only comes from match experience. Of course, exceptions need to be evaluated and certified; but the objective to accelerate the pool of professional referees can be met by a careful qualified dispensation. In other words, not everyone masters a trade at the same pace. There is a precedent in another field of soccer whereby professional players have by-passed coaching license grades by dint of their playing experience. I submit that FIFA & and their member federations should apply the same principle for potential referees. To that end, the respective federations should include a fast-track pathway for those that have experience at top levels as players and/or coaching. To achieve that objective in the interim, utilize existing MLS and EPL officials in the women’s game while mentoring those that have been identified with the potential to join their ranks. Shorten the number of games stipulated for a certain level should a candidate demonstrate consistent ability to officiate in any given stage of her development. Concurrently, incentivize those that qualify by implementing a paid
apprenticeship program once they have reached the semi-professional grade. It would be an adjunct to the model that already exists thereby increasing the pool of qualified women professional officials at a faster rate. Simply put, the benefits will outweigh the cost.
Contributed by Michael Saunders