Mark Clattenburg has come under fire after a ruling about female referees. The former Premier League referee says women must choose between a sporting career as a referee or getting pregnant. Female referees who get pregnant go through ‘a difficult path’, according to Clattenburg. A statement that has not gone down well with everyone.
Clattenburg started his argument about the presence of women in top football still rosy in conversation with talkSPORT. “We always had an assistant referee in the Premier League (Sian Massey-Ellis, ed.) and now we have a woman refereeing in the Football League, Rebecca Welch, so women are starting to develop in men’s football,” Clattenburg said. . “And if you look at UEFA, for example, the French Stephanie Frappart whistled the final of the Super Cup. So UEFA is also getting more and more women.”
“The problem with women, especially when refereeing in football, is that they go through a difficult road when they get pregnant during their refereeing career. That can hold them back for a very long time,” the arbitrator, who retired in 2017, continues. “So they have to make this choice: do they want to get pregnant or do they want to be a referee? Many women struggle with the men’s fitness test. If you want to play with the men, you have to meet those criteria. When you get pregnant, it can give you two or three years of your career,” Clattenburg added.
Clattenburg’s words can count on little support on Twitter. For example, someone pointed to seven-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams and World Cup winner Alex Morgan as examples of women who perform at the highest level in sport after having children. “I had to check the calendar to make sure we’re not living in 1940,” said one comment. Even when Clattenburg was questioned about his opinion, the former referee, who oversaw the Euro 2016 final between Portugal and France, refused to change his position.
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