The ongoing fight for females in football

“What is it about football that people can’t accept something if it’s coming out of a woman’s mouth? Women can be brain surgeons. They can save your life. They can go the moon. But they can’t give you an opinion about football. It’s bonkers.”

 

Sky Sports presenter Laura Woods said this in an incredibly powerful

statement discussing sexism within football. As a female, with the

dream to work within the football industry, this comment clearly

resonated with me. I struggle to come to terms with the fact, that in

2021 women are still being questioned on what they say with regards

to football, simply because they are not a man. It is almost as if women

do not play football or are not allowed to referee football games.

Oh wait.

 

After Rebecca Welch recently became the first female referee to take

charge of an EFL game, it made me think, male football needs more

females whether that be as referees, pundits or presenters.

 

Welch, 37, reached a huge milestone within English football last month

when she blew her whistle to kick off the Harrogate Town against Post

Vale match. This inspiring woman can now be seen as a pioneer within this sport, taking football one step closer to being gender equal. Back in 2010 Amy Fearn came on as a replacement referee during an EFL game, but Welch was the first, to take full charge of an EFL football match. It is incredible to see these women making a name for themselves within mens professional football, however the turn over is slow. It took 11 years from Fearn coming on as a substitute, for a woman within England to be appointed as head referee for the EFL, something that must change.

 

As Laura Woods said, women can do anything, but when it comes to football, this message does not seem to be heard.

 

Since 2016 the number of female referees in English football

has increased by 72% and as of June 2020 there were 2,146

women refereeing across all levels of sport. An even more

positive number is that 63% of games within the Women’s

Super League were officiated by a woman. This rise within

female football is great, but within male football it is still

incredibly low. If men can officiate women’s football, there

should be more women allowed to referee men’s football.

These actions would see women taken more seriously within

this still, relatively male dominated sport.  

 

Statistics released by The FA in June 2020 also revealed that 98.3% of decisions made by the match officials in the WSL were correct. These are incredibly strong numbers which present no reasons for women to not referee on male games, with little error in their actions.

 

The comment from Laura Woods comes months after ex-professional, female footballer Karen Carney received large amounts of abuse on Twitter after making a comment about the current state of play by Leeds United. I understand that male pundits receive backlash and harsh comments online after they make controversial comments, however the abuse is never down to their gender. Carney received extensive abuse on Twitter, with the majority of the comments being down to her being female, “she has no idea what she’s talking about”, an ex-professional footballer, who played for Arsenal, Chelsea and the English national side, has no idea what she is talking about. Leeds United must also hold some responsibility for being the catalyst for the abuse Carney received. They were seen ridiculing a woman in sport, when it is already a harder job for women to be taken seriously and respected within this industry. All their tweet did was invoke an unneeded pile-on and was completely unprofessional from a Premier League team.

 

It is not unknown that public perspective and opinion must change regarding female football, whether it be the female game, women giving their opinion on the male game or a woman being in charge of a male match. In my opinion if there were more female referees involved in the male games, women would be taken more seriously, as it would become the normal for them to be involved. If men can referee female games, it should be the same the other way around.

 

The recent news that Alex Scott will take over from Dan Walker as the first ever permanent female presenter of Football Focus is just the start of women breaking through an industry, which has been male dominated for far too long. Scott not only shows that women know exactly what they are talking about, but she portrays to a whole new generation of young girls that they can be whoever they want to be in football, and that football is no longer a man’s game.

 

Females such as Laura Woods, Alex Scott and Rebecca Welch to me, are the catalyst for change within this industry, where in the not so distant future, football will be gender equal. A space where woman can give their opinion and voice on any footballing matter, without their gender hindering how their opinion is received.  

 

Rebecca Welch is a trailblazer for female referees, she proves to any who want to be in her position that it is possible, and in years to come, more and more women will see their talents recognised, as they take charge of more male professional games.

 

“Men have to deal with scrutiny, too. I know. But their knowledge is never attacked in the same way.” – Laura Woods