FA suspends referee who made captains play stone-paper-scissors
Improvise. Adapt. Overcome. Seems pretty inspiring, doesn't it? Well, David McNamara will not agree, as his improvisation has landed him in trouble with the FA. When he forgot to bring a coin for the toss before kick-off, he thought it would be wise to make captains of the women's teams of Manchester City and Reading play stone-paper-scissors instead. He has been suspended by FA.
What really transpired on the field?
The Women's Super League match between Manchester City and Reading was hosted by the Cityzens on October 26, and was being refereed by David McNamara. The referee forgot to bring out his coin for the toss before kickoff, which is a must according to rules of the FA and FIFA. In a state of panic, he made the captains play stone-paper-scissors instead.
Comments from women's refereeing manager
FA's women's refereeing manager, Joanna Stimpson, has said that the situation can only be described as "a moment of madness". "It's not defendable. He should have been more prepared. He should have had a coin but he didn't. It was disappointing. It's not appropriate. It's very unprofessional", she added. McNamara has been suspended for 21 days for his failure to carry out his duties.
Is there a lack in proper officiating of women's football?
What McNamara did is not an isolated case in women's football, as such officiating issues have stemmed up time and again. Last month, a match between Chelsea and Arsenal saw Chelsea's Drew Spence receiving the yellow card for fracturing Arsenal's Kim Little's ankle. England national team's right back Lucy Bronze pointed out this incident while tweeting about the blatant errors in officiating women's football.
Other bizarre referee moments in football
The Hand of God goal by Maradona was allowed by Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser despite his height disadvantage against England's Peter Shilton. In another bizarre incident, a goal by Frank Lampard was not given in a 2010 World Cup match between England and Germany. In a match between Watford and Reading, referee gave Reading a goal despite the ball not entering the net.
