Referee Alleges Gender-Based Harassment and Career Damage
A leading football official has testified at an employment tribunal that she was forcefully pushed and harassed by a referee coach, claiming his behaviour was influenced by her gender. Lisa Benn, a 34-year-old Women's Super League referee, stated that Steve Child, a Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) coach and former Premier League assistant referee, manhandled her during a VAR training event on 29 March 2023.
‘Your Card Has Been Marked’: The Tribunal Allegations
Giving evidence in south London, Benn described how Child allegedly grabbed her arm and ‘forcefully pushed’ her onto the pitch during a PGMO-organised tournament. The event, designed to train officials on VAR technology not yet used in women's football, was reportedly behind schedule due to a serious injury. Benn stated that Child was ‘flustered, he was stressed, he was charging around all over the place’ before the physical altercation occurred.
Benn acknowledged that Child said ‘something along the lines of ‘come on let's go’’ to speed up the game's start. However, she firmly rejected the suggestion from PGMO's barrister, Jesse Crozier, that Child had merely ‘ushered’ her onto the pitch. ‘That is definitely not what happened,’ she told the tribunal.
The situation escalated during the match when Benn alleges Child instructed a fourth official to tell her to ‘kill the game’. This prompted Benn to respond through the communications system with ‘don't tell me how to referee’ and ‘fuck off’, comments she confirmed were directed at Child. ‘I've never had somebody shout down the comms to tell me how to referee,’ she stated. ‘I am a trusted referee, I referee at the highest level, this was an under-19s game.’
Career Consequences and Organisational Response
Benn became emotional as she described the incident's impact, telling the panel: ‘He made me feel inferior, as a referee and as a human being, and that's not OK.’ She claimed the coach's behaviour was gender-biased, stating: ‘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.’ When asked if she had witnessed similar conduct towards male referees, Benn replied: ‘I have to female referees, yes. I haven't to male referees.’
Following a mass brawl at the game's conclusion, Benn alleges Child grabbed her arm again and told her ‘your card has been marked’ and ‘you're bloody minded’, adding that ‘he was so angry his eyes were bulging out of his head’.
Despite assurances from PGMO's chief refereeing officer, Howard Webb, and his wife Bibiana Steinhaus-Webb, then head of women's refereeing, that she would not face repercussions for complaining, Benn claims her career suffered. She wrote in her witness statement that PGMO subsequently did not recommend her as highly, which she believes cost her a prestigious place on FIFA's international referee list.
The PGMO's internal investigation concluded that Child's behaviour did not meet the threshold for disciplinary action. The tribunal continues.
