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FEARN MAKES HISTORY

Amy Fearn becomes the first woman to referee a Football League match

It might have started off as a normal night for Amy Fearn as she was named as an Assistant Referee for Coventry City versus Nottingham Forest, at the Ricoh Arena, but by the end of it she had made history.

The 31-year-old replaced Referee Tony Bates with 20 minutes of the Coca-Cola Championship match still to go, after he was forced off injured and she became the first ever woman to referee a Football League match.

“It was great – I could get used to that every week.  I always have a laugh before the game with the referee saying, ‘go on give me ten minutes’,” she told www.football-league.co.uk

“Then on 70 minutes I saw the referee on the floor and I wasn’t sure if he’d tripped over but it became obvious that it was serious.  He called over to the Fourth Official to tell him to start the warm up and it was then that it dawned on me what was happening.  It felt very surreal and then started sinking in.

“I had to start doing the checks with the Fourth Official before going onto the pitch.  There is paperwork that has to be done and you have to make sure you are up-to-date with who has been cautioned.

“The decision is made before the game which official will replace the Referee in the event of him coming off, so even though I wasn’t the Fourth Official, I was the most senior so it fell to me to replace Tony.”
 
Amy has been running the line in the League and refereeing in the Football Conference for almost seven years but she admits that despite that it was still a completely different experience:
 
“The game stepped up a level when I entered the pitch.  Going from the line to the middle is very different.  It is the same as a player substitution, there is an extra stimulus in the game and with 20 minutes to go, Forest were desperate to get a goal.
 
“I understand there was a big reaction from the crowd but I don’t remember it at the time.  I’m glad there was nothing controversial in that twenty minutes – football should be about the players not the officials.”
 
Fearn has been refereeing for 15 years and she is hoping her latest adventure is just the start, not only for her but also for other women interested in getting involved:
 
“It would be nice to Referee in the Premier League one day but obviously the competition is harder.  My next promotion target is running the line in that division but I started out as a ref and that is what I love doing - I want to continue being a Referee.
 
“Last night will of course raise the profile of women in football; it can only be a good thing for encouraging more women into the game.  There is a great relationship between male and female officials – when the referee came off he told me to stay calm and do my best and it would be great to see more women come into the game.”
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