Question Number: 23719

League Specific 7/30/2010

RE: Competitive Adult

Ronny Ah-Tive of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia Australia asks...

This question is a follow up to question 23686

Is there a mimimum age restriction on referees to officiate senior men's games?

Are women alllowed to officiate senior men's games?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Ronny
In the UK and Ireland a young person can become a referee at the age of 14 but they are restricted in the type of match that they can officiate until they are 16. They could not say officiate a senior men's game. Indeed the assessment of the referee would also have a bearing on the type of match that the young referee is assigned to at reaching 16 years. Many would not have the management skills required for a senior men's game and they would best be assigned to underage, youth until their competencies developed and matured. Indeed for many candidates it can be detrimental to the young referee's development or continuation in the game.
There is no restriction on women officiating a senior men's game.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

A great deal of this depends on your national rules. There have been many women here in the USA who do all levels of men's matches. Several of them are or were FIFA referees. What matters more than gender or age is capability, and that varies by individual.

A referee should be at least a grade 7 in the USA to be assigned to upper division men or women's matches, although that isn't a hard and fast rule. A referee must have attained the age of 17 to be considered for an upgrade clinic to grade 7 from the entry level grade 8, so one would not normally see a referee of less than 17 years of age on a senior level match.

Again, it is not so much the age, or even the gender, of the referee. What matters the most is the referee's abilities -fitness, knowledge of how the game is played, the LOTG, and the man (or woman) management skills necessary for that group of players.