Referee David McNamara has been suspended for three weeks after initiating a Women’s Super League kick-off with a game of rock, paper, scissors instead of the obligatory coin toss.
McNamara had left his coin in the dressing room prior to Manchester City’s WSL match against Reading last month and so settled on deciding the kick-off with a game of ‘rock, paper, scissors.’
A coin toss to decide kick-offs is a necessity according to the laws of the game and so the Football Association have charged the referee for “not acting in the best interests of the game.”
The incident involved Manchester City and England captain Steph Houghton, as well as Reading skipper Kirsty Pearce, with the occurrence taking place before the sides drew 1-1.
The FA women’s refereeing manager Joanna Stimpson told The Times that McNamara’s decision was a “moment of madness” and “unprofessional.”
“Disappointed is probably the word I’d use,” Stimpson stated. “The referee forgot his coin and in that moment, in a TV game, he was really pushed for time, it was a moment of madness.
“He obviously thought it was the right thing to do, he probably walked away, or the second afterwards, thought it wasn’t the right thing to do.
“It’s not defendable. He should have been more prepared, he should have had a coin but he didn’t. It was disappointing, it’s not appropriate, it’s very unprofessional.
“The laws of the game state you toss a coin. I can’t think it’s something we are going to ignore. He wasn’t taking the mick out of the game, it was just a really poor decision.”
As a result of the suspension, McNamara will be banned from any involvement in match day officiating between Monday, 26 November to Sunday, 16 December.
An FA spokesperson also stated: “The FA can confirm that referee David McNamara has been suspended for 21 days, starting from Monday 26 November, after accepting a charge of ‘not acting in the best interests of the game’.
“This follows an incident in the FA WSL match between Manchester City and Reading on Friday 26 October when he failed to determine which team would kick off the match by the toss of a coin, as required by the Laws of the Game.”
‘Football Association’s decision draconian’
Former referees’ chief Keith Hackett has launched a scathing criticism towards the Football Association after the governing body moved to suspend McNamara, as well as offering his sympathy towards the young referee.
I am surprised and saddened that a serving officer of the FA when questioned about the draconian punishment of Petty Officer and Referee David McNamara who forgot to take a coin out with him. Stated that it was in her words “a moment of madness” this is unacceptable comment
— KEITH HACKETT (@HACKETTREF) November 15, 2018
He said: “Who at the Football Association took the decision to suspend a young referee who made the mistake of forgetting his coin?
“Three-week suspension is draconian. A player who gets a three-match ban can be back playing in 7/10 days.”
The post Referee suspended for ‘rock, paper, scissors’ instead of coin toss appeared first on Squawka News.
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