Chelsea vs Reading in the Women's Super League earlier this month got off to an inauspicious start when no Royals player stepped up to take the kick-off. But that quizzical reaction was not from a fan, player or even a manager - it was the referee. How do we know? Because Emily Heaslip and her assistants were all wearing microphones, offering us an insight into their decision-making process during the heat of a game. When the match finally got under way, we were able to hear just how often Heaslip and her assistants Ceri Williams, Georgia Ball and Louise Saunders communicated during the 90 minutes as part of an experiment by broadcaster Sky Sports.
"Now," Heaslip would shout each time the ball was played behind the defence, alerting her assistants to a possible offside call. "Clear" would be the reply if the attacker was onside, allowing the game to continue. "Waiting, waiting, flagging" was the response if the forward had strayed beyond the last defender. We were also able to gain an understanding of how the officials react to different match situations. "I can't see, I can't see," shouts Saunders, as a crowd of players impede her view of the ball heading towards the touchline. "Blue, blue" responds Heaslip, indicating a Chelsea ball. The official even had time to provide a bit of match commentary. "She loves a challenge does Erin," says Heaslip, in response to a firm but fair tackle by Chelsea's Erin Cuthbert. The game's major flashpoint came late in the second half when Chelsea forward Beth England was fouled in the box for a penalty. We were able to hear how the referee told the players to remain outside the area before the ball was kicked, told spot-kick taker England to wait for the whistle and reminded Reading goalkeeper Grace Moloney to have one foot on the line. "She's watching," Heaslip says to Moloney, pointing to one of her assistants. England confidently dispatched the spot-kick, one of five goals Chelsea scored on the night in a dominant victory.
Bibiana Steinhaus-Webb, a former referee and women's select group director at the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), hopes the experiment will give fans a greater understanding of the officials' jobs. "So much information is shared within the team which is crucial to making the right decision," she told Sky Sports' Inside the WSL. "All these pieces of information need to come together to build a full picture. We wanted to communicate this to a wider audience and really let people know what is going on on the field of play. I hope it will show how professionally the officials take their job, how much they work on the field of play throughout the 90 minutes, how focused they are and how much interaction takes place."
It is not the first time a referee has worn a microphone in English football. In 1989, David Elleray was mic'd up during a Division One match between Arsenal and Millwall for a TV documentary, which also included footage of the referee's preparations before and after the game. In 2019, Australian referee Jarred Gillett, who is now a Premier League official, wore a microphone for his final A-League match between Brisbane Roar and the Western Sydney Wanderers.
Source: BBC