Lisa Benn, 34, alleged she was “manhandled” and “threatened” by Steve Child, a PGMOL coach and former Premier League assistant referee, during a two-day tournament that was put on to help referees learn how to use VAR.
Benn claimed that after she made a complaint against Child, she went on to lose her position on the FIFA referees list.
That decision resulted in her losing her PGMOL contract as a women’s select group match official. Benn now officiates WSL matches on a self-employed basis.
A PGMOL investigation found Child’s conduct did not meet the threshold for disciplinary action.
Benn claimed she had experienced sex-based discrimination and harassment, had been victimised, and been unfairly dismissed.
The PGMOL denies all the allegations against them.
The incident dates back to March 28-29 2023, when the PGMOL staged a two day tournament to help officials learn how to use VAR.
The tribunal heard how Benn was scheduled to officiate the last match of the day, which had been delayed because of a serious injury to a player.
In her witness statement, seen by The Athletic, Benn explained how she was standing by the VAR table pitch side, but there was still a table on the pitch from a previous presentation.
She said how Child was eager to hurry up the teams and match officials. She then alleged that Child grabbed her arm and forcefully pushed her onto the pitch.
“The fact of being manhandled to expedite a game of football when there’s a table on the pitch, there’s no excuse for that,” she told the tribunal on Tuesday.
She said she responded by telling Child not to touch her and pulled her arm away.
During the match, there were tackles flying in, and Benn claimed that Child was telling fourth official Ruby Sykes to end the match, and instructing her how to officiate.
In her witness statement, Benn said she told Child to “f*** off” as she felt belittled.
Benn explained how she sent a player off during the match and a mass brawl then ensued at full time. She alleged that Child again grabbed her by the arm and pulled her onto the side of the pitch.
“He was stressed and I took the brunt of the chaos of the event, that he couldn’t handle the pressure,” she told the tribunal on Tuesday. “He is a male and I am a female, of course it’s to do with my sex.”
Benn also claimed Child told her “my card had been marked”, an allegation he denies.
Child also rejected the suggestion he grabbed or dragged Benn onto the pitch, or had been aggressive or threatening towards her.
Cross-examining Benn, Jesse Crozier, for the PGMOL, told her the witnesses in attendance did not back up her version of events.
“If you had been dragged, grabbed and pushed at a training tournament with dozens and dozens of people, someone would have seen it,” he told her on Monday.
After Benn reported what happened, the PGMOL investigated the incident.
There was an outcome delivered on June 27, led by Adam Gale-Watts, following a meeting on April 14. He admitted there were lessons to be learned from the event, but concluded there was no weight of evidence of aggressive or threatening (behaviour).
Benn didn’t appeal the decision. She also didn’t respond to the proposed idea of a mediation with Child.
Benn told how she later attended a Select Group Women’s Professional Game camp on August 19, where there was another incident with Child while she was checking in to a hotel.
She alleged that Child confronted her, told her she was late and needed to hurry up, and then leant in close to her face, intimidating her.
“He got right in my face and approached me in an unprofessional manner, I told him to f*** off because I couldn’t face him in that environment,” she told the tribunal. “I was already in a vulnerable place because of what had happened previously.”
In the PGMOL’s submissions, it was denied that Child’s behaviour could be seen as threatening or intimidating, particularly as Benn told him to “f*** off.”
Benn later had a meeting on October 23, which had been postponed on numerous occasions, with Howard Webb, chief refereeing officer at PGMOL, and Danielle Every, chief operating officer, where she aired her grievances. In her witness statement, she told how she was assured that raising a complaint would not affect refereeing appointments.
She also had a meeting with Bibianna Steinhaus-Webb, who was then head of women’s referees, and Webb’s partner, on November 13. Steinhaus-Webb is now Fifa’s head of women’s refereeing.
Benn later found her FIFA international referee nomination hadn’t been accepted for 2024, as she’d been ranked 6th, rather than 5th or higher, on their merit list. That resulted in her losing her PGMOL contract as a women’s select group match official.
In her witness statement, Benn said she had followed the PGMOL whistle blowing policy and subsequently been dismissed.
Speaking today at the tribunal, she said: “That’s the thing with the PGMOL, people are scared to come forward and challenge inappropriate behaviour, because of the fear of consequence, it led to the loss of my contract and FIFA (nomination), because I raised this complaint, that’s the crux of the argument.”
She added: “There’s a fear to raise grievances because of the fear of consequence, the irony of me being sat here is I’m now unemployed because I raised that grievance.”
In response, the PGMOL denies all the allegations against them.
They detailed in their submissions how the FA nominated Benn for the FIFA list in 2024, but she was ranked sixth out of the six referees put forward.
FIFA subsequently appointed five of the six referees nominated by the FA, with Benn missing out.
The PGMOL rejected the idea they had any influence over the FA or FIFA’s final decision, as well as the notion that it was related to her sex or complaints made about Child.
They added how the PGMOL had been supportive of Benn’s inclusion in the FA’s submission to FIFA.
They also said that while the FA’s Referees Committee includes Webb, he had no role in grading referees to be put forward to FIFA.
Benn’s removal from the list meant her contract was automatically terminated under the terms of the contract. That was confirmed to her on January 17, backdated to December 31 2023.
They added how the PGMOL carried out a fair and proper investigation into Benn’s allegation against Child, and pointed out how she didn’t appeal the decision.
The tribunal in Croydon continues.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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