A&H

Refereeing women’s football

agolding25

New Member
Hi there,

Refereeing my first women’s game later on today. Should I referee the game any differently or just keep to the same principles?

Thanks.
 
The Referee Store
Same principles. Start with a clean slate. If the game demands it, tighten your control. If they just want to play without fuss, loosen it. You may hear the latter is the case with women football, but it is not necessarily true. Referee what's in front of you.
 
A few thoughts:

Women commit more fouls with their hips due to center of balance issues, so you have to watch shoulder to shoulder contact situations a bit differently

Because of center of balance, the natural position of arms may be different when they jump

You may find retaliation waits longer as things simmer and then explode instead of escalating quickly
 
A few thoughts:

Women commit more fouls with their hips due to center of balance issues, so you have to watch shoulder to shoulder contact situations a bit differently

Because of center of balance, the natural position of arms may be different when they jump

You may find retaliation waits longer as things simmer and then explode instead of escalating quickly
I've heard all of those points before but in my experience of hundreds of women's games refereed or watched, I've never found any of them to be particularly true - or at least not to the extent that you need to change the way you referee in any significant manner. As @one says, just "Referee what's in front of you."
 
Agree with above, difficult to generalise and that's true of all football at all levels, but if pushed I would say that the women, generally, expect more fouls than say decent male U18s and upwards sides.

That's only a personal observation, not a scientifically proven fact!;)
 
I have been refereeing adult Ladies' games for eight years. One thing I have found, at least here in Australia, is that women are more likely than men to "own up" to things on the pitch. It's quite common for me to see a ball come off two players close together and go over goal line. I may give a goal kick and then have the defender say: "No, it came off me last, it's a corner". I just thank them for their honesty and change my call.
 
Same principles. Start with a clean slate. If the game demands it, tighten your control. If they just want to play without fuss, loosen it. You may hear the latter is the case with women football, but it is not necessarily true. Referee what's in front of you.
Exactly this.
 
i reff womens football the same as mens. i would think most womens teams would be horrified if we were reffing them differently.
 
Back
Top