‘It was brilliant’ says SPFL’S first female ref

Edinburgh City’s 1-0 win over Berwick Rangers on Saturday was the first SPFL match to be refereed by a woman.

After taking charge of the League Two game, Lorraine Watson revealed she hopes her progression into the senior set-up will inspire young female referees. “The more it happens, the more normal it will become,” said 32-yearold Watson.

“The more people see it, the more chance we have of young ones coming through and maybe aiming that bit higher than they ever had before.”

Watson says the players at Ainslie Park, where Ashley Grimes scored the only goal, did not make an issue of her debut.

“It was brilliant,” she told BBC Scotland. “There was absolutely no reaction, they just treated me the same as they would any other referee,” she said. “When they 0 Lorraine Watson takes centre stage at Ainslie Park. disagreed [with decisions], they shouted at me just the same as if it was a male in the middle.

“As a referee, it doesn’t matter if you’re male, female or any other difference in you, if the teams and supporters aren’t happy with your decisions, they will pick up on something – and, unfortunately, if you happen to be a female, that’s generally what they pick up on first – and they’ll make comments regarding that.

“But it all goes back to the decisions made on the field. If you’re there and have a good game, you’re going to get minimum dissent, just the same as any male would.”

Watson, from Thornton in Fife, was an assistant referee for a Rangers v Berwick Rangers clash in 2013 and officiated at the Women’s Under-19 European Championships. She has also taken charge of games in the Women’s Champions League. l The Bundesliga’s first female referee oversaw a 1-1 draw between Hertha Berlin and Werder Bremen yesterday.

Bibiana Steinhaus, who has a decade’s experience of refereeing in Germany’s second division, made her debut in the top flight – an occasion celebrated by the home side with a limited offer of halfprice tickets for female supporters.