Reading FC Women took part in what was a unique occasion in English professional football.
In Reading’s Women’s Super League match against Chelsea, the referee, Emily Heaslip, was wearing a microphone. Now I’m sure you will say that referees in top football competitions are always mic’d up these days, but of course the referees comments can only be heard by the assistant referees, the fourth official and the VAR where these are installed.
The difference on this occasion is that thanks to Sky Sports, anyone could tune in and listen to what the referee was saying and the replies of her assistants.
As a referee I find many of Emily’s comments interesting. If we start when she gave a penalty, no histrionics she just pointed at the spot and then when one player was aligning the ball , she asked ‘You taking it?’.
Why is that important? The Law says that the kicker must be clearly identified. This is to prevent another player sneaking in and taking the kick before the goalkeeper is ready.
Emily then told the kicker, ‘wait for my whistle please’. Two points here. The law says the kick must be taken after the referee has given a signal, the whistle being the obvious choice.
This gives the referee time to make sure everybody is in the right place for the kick. The other word I liked was ‘please’. and when the players reacted to her request ‘feet out’ (of the penalty area} she said ‘thank you. I’ve always believed that referees should be polite.
Emily spoke to the goalkeeper, reminding her how she should stand and pointing out that her assistant would be watching her, which is the assistant referee’s job at penalty kicks.
I was particularly intrigued by the way Emily and her team used their intercom for offside. Offside is difficult because the decision has to be made the moment the ball is kicked, so Emily would shout ‘now’ when the pass was made and her assistants replied with ‘onside’ or ‘waiting-flagging’.
Rugby followers will tell us that their game introduced this many years ago, spectators could listen in for an extra fee. Why has it not been introduced into football’s Premier League? The story is that because the players could also be heard when speaking to the referee, their language was considered too expletive for spectators.
Emily and her team suffered no such problem.
By Dick Sawdon Smith
