Referee Abandons Toss For Rock Paper Scissors, Gets Suspended

Abandoning the standard coin toss ahead of a Women’s Super League match in favor of a game of ‘rock paper scissors’ led to the suspension of a football referee for three weeks in England. The referee, David McNamara, had accepted the charge of ‘not acting in the best interests if the game’ prior to the WSL football match between Manchester City and Reading in October.

The law states that a referee must conduct a coin toss between the two captains to decide which team kicks off first. However, reports stated that McNamara left his coin in the changing room. At the time of the toss, the referee invited City skipper Steph Houghton and Reading captain, Kirsty Pearce, to take part in the children’s game of ‘rock, paper, scissors’ instead.

Taking note of the incident, the Football Association (FA) suspended David McNamara for 21 days. “The FA can confirm that referee David McNamara has been suspended for 21 days, starting from Monday 26 November, after accepting a charge of ‘not acting in the best interests of the game’,” an FA spokesperson said on Thursday.

“This follows an incident in the WSL match between Manchester City and Reading on Friday 26 October, when he failed to determine which team would kick off the match by the toss of a coin, as required by the laws of the game. McNamara will return to duty from Monday 17 December”, the statement added.

“He should have been more prepared, he should have had a coin. It was disappointing, it’s not appropriate, it’s very unprofessional,” Football Association women’s refereeing manager Joanna Stimpson said, adding McNamara’s decision was “a moment of madness”, Football Association women’s refereeing manager Joanna Stimpson added.