Barnet manager Dean Brennan has been handed a nine-match touchline ban by the Football Association after being found guilty of making sexist comments to referee Kirsty Dowle during a League Two match this season. The incident occurred during Barnet's defeat to Shrewsbury in September, when Brennan was sent off for dissent and subsequently abused the official.
The FA charged Brennan with an aggravated breach of rule E3.1, alleging that he acted in an improper manner and used abusive or insulting words towards a match official, including a reference to gender. Brennan denied the charge, but an independent regulatory commission found him guilty, imposing a £2,000 fine and a mandatory education programme in addition to the ban.
Brennan becomes the first manager in English football to be banned specifically for sexist comments towards a referee. In 2022, Barrow manager Mark Cooper received an eight-game ban for similar conduct towards assistant referee Helen Edwards, which included a gender reference.
In a statement, Brennan said: “Throughout this case I have categorically denied the FA charge of discrimination. Whilst the panel have come to their conclusion, which I have to respect, I do not agree with their decision. There is a place in football for everyone, it’s the greatest sport on the planet.”
The FA introduced a minimum five-match ban for proven discrimination in 2013, increased to six games in 2019, with the possibility of extension depending on aggravating factors. The sanction applies to offences involving racism, homophobia or any other form of discriminatory behaviour.
