FIFA Referee Loses Spot on International List Amid Alleged Harassment Claim
Lisa Benn, a 34-year-old Women's Super League official, has claimed that she was demoted from fifth to sixth in Professional Game Match Officials Limited's (PGMOL) nominations for the FIFA international officials list after raising concerns about alleged harassment by an assistant referee coach.
Benn alleges that Steve Child, a former Premier League assistant referee, grabbed her arm and "forcefully pushed" her onto a pitch at a Video Assistant Referee training tournament in March 2023. Child has denied making physical contact, claiming it was a "guiding arm if anything." However, he did allegedly tell Benn: "Your card has been marked," which sparked the complaint.
Benn attended a training camp with Child and other officials in August 2023, during which she claimed the coach intimidated her in the hotel reception. She raised these concerns with Howard Webb, PGMOL's chief refereeing officer, who is also a former Premier League referee. Webb denies that Benn's demotion was due to her complaint.
Webs claims that Benn was removed from fifth to sixth place on the PGMOL nominations list not because of her grievance but because she was outperformed by other officials in performance factors such as physical attributes, decision-making skills and interpersonal abilities.
However, it appears that the tribunal is hearing a different story. The claimant's lawyer says "She made a second complaint that a male PGMOL coach made unwanted threatening remarks to a female referee in the women's game and that is why she was ranked sixth isn't it?" Webb denies this, saying "No, that is not correct."
The case raises questions about workplace bullying and harassment in sports. It also highlights the difficulties faced by female officials in the men's sport, where they often face intimidation and harassment.
The tribunal continues to hear the case, with many questions left unanswered about why Benn was demoted from fifth to sixth place on the PGMOL nominations list.
Lisa Benn, a 34-year-old Women's Super League official, has claimed that she was demoted from fifth to sixth in Professional Game Match Officials Limited's (PGMOL) nominations for the FIFA international officials list after raising concerns about alleged harassment by an assistant referee coach.
Benn alleges that Steve Child, a former Premier League assistant referee, grabbed her arm and "forcefully pushed" her onto a pitch at a Video Assistant Referee training tournament in March 2023. Child has denied making physical contact, claiming it was a "guiding arm if anything." However, he did allegedly tell Benn: "Your card has been marked," which sparked the complaint.
Benn attended a training camp with Child and other officials in August 2023, during which she claimed the coach intimidated her in the hotel reception. She raised these concerns with Howard Webb, PGMOL's chief refereeing officer, who is also a former Premier League referee. Webb denies that Benn's demotion was due to her complaint.
Webs claims that Benn was removed from fifth to sixth place on the PGMOL nominations list not because of her grievance but because she was outperformed by other officials in performance factors such as physical attributes, decision-making skills and interpersonal abilities.
However, it appears that the tribunal is hearing a different story. The claimant's lawyer says "She made a second complaint that a male PGMOL coach made unwanted threatening remarks to a female referee in the women's game and that is why she was ranked sixth isn't it?" Webb denies this, saying "No, that is not correct."
The case raises questions about workplace bullying and harassment in sports. It also highlights the difficulties faced by female officials in the men's sport, where they often face intimidation and harassment.
The tribunal continues to hear the case, with many questions left unanswered about why Benn was demoted from fifth to sixth place on the PGMOL nominations list.
So its pretty crazy that a female referee is being penalised for speaking out against alleged bullying in the sport. Like, if she cant even speak up without getting downgraded then thats a bigger problem than the actual incident. Its also sad to hear that male officials are making unwanted comments and intimidating women in the game 
FIFA is literally doin' it wrong again! Like Lisa Benn's allegations of harassment are totally valid and if anyone tells you otherwise, they're just tryna cover somethin up 
. It's not like Steve Child was all "it was no big deal" when he grabbed her arm or told her to get in line 
. The fact that PGMOL's chief referee officer Howard Webb is denyin' any wrongdoing and sayin' it's just about performance factors is straight up ridiculous 
. We know how that usually goes... women face harassment, get written off as not good enough 
. This whole thing is a total #JusticeForLisaBenn situation 
and now we got another female official making similar claims its like theres some serious culture problums in the men's sport 
And if it happened, like, for real, how can they just brush it off and say she's outperformed others in other areas? Sounds fishy to me 
.
. And can we talk about how this perpetuates these problematic attitudes towards women in sports? 
), but this whole thing just feels so... messy. 
. And now she's being accused of just not doing well enough? Come on! She's a Women's Super League official for crying out loud! 
She deserves better than that 
. I'm totally with her on this one, and I hope the tribunal gets to the bottom of what really happened 
.
and now she's being left out of the FIFA international officials list because of it?!?! 
what even is going on?!
she's already dealing with this awful situation and now they're making her doubt herself like that?!?! 
I'm all about equality in sports 
we need more female refs and officials who are supported and respected, not pushed around or intimidated!
and that they take these allegations seriously! 
because if not, it's just going to create more problems for women in sports 
Like, she's already been marked down from fifth to sixth place because of some dude making physical contact with her?! That's not cool at all. And now it's coming out that he's been saying bad things to female refs too? 
I don't get why they're not taking this seriously. It's so unfair to Lisa Benn and to all the other females in sports who are dealing with this stuff. We need to start holding these people accountable for their actions! 
. It's not fair, man... we should be supportin' her & makin' sure these issues are taken seriously 
The fact that another female referee made a complaint about unwanted remarks by a male coach doesn't necessarily mean it's related to Benn's case... but at the same time, it does raise some questions.
️
. anywayz, gotta wonder wut's gonna happen next in dis case...
. I mean, we have laws against workplace bullying, but it seems like some people are still getting away with it 
.
i feel bad 4 her & hope the tribunal gets 2 the bottom of this