WSL referee claims she lost her job as an international official after “being manhandled” | OneFootball

WSL referee Lisa Benn is taking part in an employment tribunal, after losing her job for complaining about being ‘manhandled’ by a male colleague.

Benn has claimed that PGMOL official Steve Child ‘forcefully pushed’ her at a staff training tournament.

WSL referee Lisa Benn loses job over complaint

After Benn complained about the situation, action was taken almost immediately.

But the action wasn’t taken on Benn’s accused as instead the WSL referee lost her job as an international official.

FIFA confirmed shortly after the incident that the referee would no longer be on FIFA’s list for major tournaments.

While she was excluded from the Euros in summer, Benn took part in local outreach programs to try and grow the women’s game.

Benn claims that Howard Webb, and his wife Bibi – former head of women’s referees – told her she wouldn’t be punished for bringing the claims to light.

PGMOL did investigate the incident but found that there wasn’t enough evidence for disciplinary action.

There was a serious injury at the PGMOL-run tournament in 2023 which led to Benn being manhandled. The referee alleges that following the injury she was told to ‘kill the game’ before being grabbed.

“I am a trusted referee, I referee at the highest level – this was an under-19s game,” Benn said at a tribunal this week.

“He felt superior, he felt like he could come on and tell me how to referee, he manhandled me on to the field of play – he would never have done that to a male referee,” she added.

It was suggested by one of the panel that “he would have put his arm behind you and ushered you on to the pitch at the same time”, however Benn strongly refuted those claims.

The tribunal is far from over just yet and there may well be further action taken on Steve Child in the coming weeks as Lisa Benn seeks justice.