For a former English referee, women must « choose between being pregnant or refereeing »

Asked to speak on British radio Talksport, former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg caused controversy by saying that women who make a career in refereeing must choose between the profession and their desire to have children.

If he finds that the arrival of women referees in men’s sports is a « big point », Mark Clattenburg has issued a caveat considered particularly dissenting here and there. In an interview with UK radio on Friday TalksportThe former Premier League referee said: « The problem with women is, and certainly in football refereeing, that they have a difficult journey if they get pregnant during their refereeing career. They have to So make this choice: do they want to be pregnant or do they want to be referees? « 

« Disrespectful and archaic »

These words made the English rugby player Joe Marler react on Twitter. « Clattenburg’s response to my question about female referees in football on this morning was disrespectful and archaic, » he said, deeming Sara Cox the first woman to referee an English Premier League match in rugby,  » sets the stage for the way the world should be « .

Women in Football chief executive Jane Purdon also wanted to reinstate the former Premier League referee, as the BBC reports: « Many women in elite sport are able to resume their athletic careers quickly. after childbirth Others take longer by choice or necessity None of these scenarios is a problem The real problem are the assumptions about female biology and gender roles in child care children, who are lazy, obsolete or just plain wrong « .