LISA BEN COURT: Referees chief Howard Webb denies WSL official lost his role over complaint

Webb told the court that “our sincere belief is that it will be accepted” because of the growth of women’s football and “the noise we were hearing” from sporting bodies.

“Unfortunately, very sadly, that was not the case, but unfortunately, compared to the other officials in this ranking, it was rightfully ranked sixth, based on the performance factors mentioned and the overall look we went through,” he said.

“This is a competitive world in which we operate and we need to rank officials against each other.

“We have produced a lot of other good officials in this country, and we are in the difficult task of ranking them against each other.

Penn claimed former Premier League assistant referee Steve Child grabbed her arm and “forcefully pushed” her onto the pitch during a video assistant referee (VAR) training session in March 2023, later telling her: “Your card has been marked.”

Child, who was assistant referee coach at the time, denied making the comment and a PGMOL investigation found there was insufficient evidence to take disciplinary action.

Penn then attended training camp in August 2023, where she alleged Child intimidated her at a hotel reception, an incident she raised with Webb’s wife, Bebe Steinhaus-Webb, who was then the PGMOL’s head of women’s referees.

PGMOL nominations were submitted to FIFA the following month and Ben discovered she had not been selected later in December.

Carla Fisher, on behalf of Penn, told Loeb: “I made a second complaint that a male PGMOL coach made unwanted threatening remarks to a female referee in the women’s match, and that’s why you’re ranked sixth, isn’t it.”

But Webb replied: “No, that’s not true.”

A meeting was held in October 2023 in which Penn discussed her issues with the PGMOL investigation and said officials were afraid to raise grievances because of the potential consequences.

Recalling the discussion, Webb added: “The point Lisa made was that there was a sense of fear among officials, in terms of reporting concerns.

“Of course, we want to know what is on the minds of our officials and for them to speak to us frankly and confidently. We want our officials to go out on the field and perform well.”

When asked to describe the state of the FIFA referee list, he said: “They appreciate this badge, they really appreciate it.

“We had a view that sixth place was really very likely. I think the growth of women’s football is incredible and we think it’s important to meet the demand.”

The court continues.