'Outdated' comments on female refs criticised

Former English Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has been criticised for making "outdated" comments astir pistillate referees.

Clattenburg, who refereed adjacent to 300 Premier League games and besides oversaw the Champions League and European Championship finals successful 2016, made the comments connected talkSPORT vigor successful airy of Sara Cox becoming the archetypal pistillate to referee a Premiership rugby lucifer past week.

"The occupation with women, and surely successful refereeing, surely successful football, is they person a hard pathway if they get large during their refereeing career, it tin halt them a agelong way," Clattenburg said.

Mark Clattenburg. (Getty)

"So they've got to marque this prime -- bash they privation to beryllium pregnant, person children, oregon bash they privation to beryllium referees?"

He aboriginal added: "Women person to marque that sacrifice due to the fact that if they privation to beryllium large -- accidental they get to a definite level successful refereeing and past they privation to get to that adjacent level -- if you go pregnant, it tin outgo you 2 oregon 3 years of your life. Once you suffer that 3 years, idiosyncratic other takes your position."

Responding to the comments, Jane Purdon, CEO of Women successful Football, said that Clattenburg's "judgment is mode disconnected erstwhile it comes to referees and pregnancy."

"Women successful each professions look challenges successful balancing enactment and family," said Purdon.

"So bash galore men -- but for men, this is ne'er seen arsenic a problem, and men are ne'er expected to take betwixt the two.

"In fact, galore women successful elite athletics are successful a presumption to resume their sporting careers rapidly aft giving birth. Others instrumentality much clip retired -- by prime oregon by necessity. Neither of these scenarios is simply a 'problem.'

"The existent occupation is assumptions astir pistillate biology, and sex roles successful childcare, which are lazy, outdated oregon plain false."

In the Premier League, Sian Massey-Ellis has been a lucifer authoritative since 2010; she has spoken of however she defied doctor's orders to instrumentality to the relation aft giving commencement to her archetypal child.

Earlier this year, Rebecca Welch became the archetypal appointed pistillate referee to instrumentality complaint of an English Football League crippled erstwhile she oversaw Port Vale's 2-0 triumph against Harrogate Town.

Clattenburg besides said that a batch of pistillate referees "struggle with the men's fittingness test" and added: "Certainly, erstwhile you person a baby, you're retired nine, 10 months. Then you'll instrumentality different six months to retrieve from your assemblage truthful so it's astir 2 years. To walk that men's fittingness trial is very, precise demanding."

Rugby subordinate Joe Marler, who was playing for Harlequins erstwhile Cox made her Premiership debut astatine the weekend, aboriginal tweeted: "Clattenburg's effect to my question astir pistillate referees successful shot connected @talkSPORT this greeting was disrespectful and archaic."

CNN has been incapable to get a effect from Clattenburg to the criticism.

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