Referee Alleges Harassment and Career Damage
A top football official has testified at an employment tribunal that she was forcefully pushed and harassed by a referee coach, behaviour she claims was influenced by her gender. Lisa Benn, a 34-year-old Women's Super League referee, stated that these events led to her unfairly losing her prestigious position as an international referee.
Benn alleges that Steve Child, a coach with Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) and a former Premier League assistant referee, manhandled her during a VAR training event on 29 March 2023. She further claims that after she raised a formal complaint, the PGMO downgraded their recommendations for her, which ultimately cost her a place on FIFA's international referee list.
The VAR Training Incident
Giving evidence at a south London tribunal, Benn described a chaotic scene at the PGMO-organised tournament. The schedule was delayed by a serious injury, and she stated that Child, who had taken a leadership role, was "flustered, he was stressed, he was charging around all over the place".
The central allegation concerns Child's actions to get the game started. Benn claims he grabbed her arm and "forcefully pushed" her onto the pitch. While she accepted he said something like "come on let's go", she firmly rejected the suggestion put forward by PGMO's barrister, Jesse Crozier, that Child had merely ushered her on. "That is definitely not what happened," she told the tribunal.
A Heated Match and a Confrontation
The situation escalated during the match itself. Benn told the panel that Child instructed a fourth official to tell her to "kill the game", a directive that prompted her to respond "don't tell me how to referee" and "fuck off" through the communications system. She expressed her frustration, stating, "I've never had somebody shout down the comms to tell me how to referee – I am a trusted referee, I referee at the highest level."
Benn became emotional as she explained the impact, saying, "He made me feel inferior, as a referee and as a human being, and that's not OK." She asserted that this treatment was gender-based, adding, "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."
After the game, which ended with a "mass brawl" triggered by a head-butt, Benn alleges that Child grabbed her arm again and told her, "your card has been marked" and "you're bloody minded", with his eyes "bulging out of his head" with anger.
Aftermath and Tribunal Proceedings
Despite raising a complaint, a PGMO investigation concluded that Child's behaviour did not meet the threshold for disciplinary action. Benn also claimed that while Howard Webb, PGMO's chief refereeing officer, and his wife Bibiana Steinhaus-Webb assured her she would not be punished for coming forward, the organisation subsequently did not recommend her as highly as before.
This, she contends, directly led to her removal from the FIFA international list. The PGMO's barrister challenged Benn on the lack of witnesses to the alleged pushing, suggesting such an incident would have been noticed. Benn disagreed, stating there would have been video recordings, though she has not seen any.
The employment tribunal continues.
