Boss condemns verbal abuse of female referees
Though they are increasing in numbers, manager for the Referee Department at the Jamaica Football Federation, Victor Stewart, said female referees are subjected to verbal abuse aimed at their private parts.
Stewart’s comments came after a referee from a neighbouring Caribbean country complained to him about the vulgarity of the abuse that was thrown at a female official at the Arnett Gardens versus Humble Lion game on Thursday night.
“I have a friend from a neighbouring Caribbean island and this morning he called me and said that he didn’t kmow that this is the way the public handle female referees especially,” Stewart said. “He was blown away by the way spectators described the female referee at the Arnett Gardens game last night.”
Stewart said that the verbal abuse made reference to female’s genitals. “He was appalled by the way the spectators described her anatomy and her activities for no particular reason,” Stewart said.
However, he said that female referees in Jamaica are not affected by to verbal abuse and are not intimidated by it either.
“These ladies that we have in the system now, they have grown significantly over the past years. We started out with a Paulette Riley who has been to world tournaments,” Stewart explained. “These girls know what it takes and what it values to them to be a match official so they will stick it out no matter how tough it is.”