There was a lady of the female persuasion running the line at the Wallsall v Saints game at the weekend, and it got me thinking thusly -

I think female officials will improve the game because it will reduce the amount of backchat.

Now, she was rubbish and made some awful decisions, however so did the male ref and so this isn't about whether women are capable of officiating - they clearly are. When I played the game I was a moaner, I'd appeal for everything. Imagine a whiny Dennis Wise, only taller. However, I think if I'd been faced with a female official I wouldn't have come out with half the expletives that I would normally have, and from watching the reaction of our back 4 to some of the stranger decisions she made I got the feeling that they felt the same.

In the heat of the moment, I wouldn't be able to call a women a blind half-arsed fuck as easily as I would a man. Therefore, I think women officials are a good thing for football. This isn't a thread about whether women would be any good at the job. I hope I've made this clear. Thought? Give a fuck?