Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner was left seething following his team’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea at Kingsmeadow on Sunday.
In what was one of the biggest games of the season so far, Skinner was left hugely frustrated as he felt that his side were unfairly denied two pivotal penalty calls that could have put his team in control of the clash. Skinner felt that both Nikita Parris and Ona Batlle had been fouled in the box but the match referee thought otherwise.
Skinner commented after the match that ‘two penalties in a game like this are massive’ and that ‘these are decisions that will make or break where you finish in the table’. Manchester United went into the match at the top of the Barclays Women’s Super League table but they have now been leapfrogged by Chelsea with the result putting a huge dent in their title aspirations.
Irrespective of individual opinions on these specific decisions, it does raise a salient point about the role of referees in the Barclays Women’s Super League. With fewer matches played and fewer points up for grabs, results matter all the more at the top level of the women’s game, therefore, those split-second decisions made by the officials carry so much more weight.
In the Premier League, there is a maximum of 114 points to be won across the season. Conversely, in the top tier of the women’s game in this country, a team can at present only earn 66 points, a paltry tally in comparison to the men’s game. Consequently, a single match makes up a much bigger piece of the jigsaw in the Barclays Women’s Super League, almost double what a single match in the Premier League is worth.
In a sport that relies so heavily on fine margins going your way, the role of the referee suddenly takes on a greater significance. As we all already know, an incorrect call can be the difference between a team winning or losing. Yet, in the Barclays Women’s Super League, where wins are more valuable and overall points totals are much lower, a single misplaced assistant’s flag or referee’s whistle has far bigger ramifications.
What can be done to ensure that we get to the right outcomes more frequently? Skinner’s solution is a simple one; to invest in the officials and the surrounding technology.
At present, there are no full-time referees in the top two divisions of the women’s game. As such, officials must divide their time between refereeing and jobs away from the game or by overseeing matches on the men’s side. This consequently means that they cannot afford to give women’s football and understanding its unique idiosyncrasies their full focus. They additionally lack the support of VAR that is afforded to their counterparts in the men’s top tier at a time when it could be argued that they need more support, not less.
The quality of refereeing and the development of officials in the women’s game is undoubtedly a debate that will rumble on for some time.
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