Female refs doing better than most males - Samuels

FIFA referee Cardella Samuels said that locally, female match officials are doing better than their male counterparts.

Samuels, who also shared her own experience in top-flight officiating, pointed to the many high-profile Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) games that now feature a full female team of officials as a mark of the strides being made by women in the area.

"It's really a good feeling as a female to see the females out there, and I'm sure we're doing a lot better than most of the males," Samuels said. "How we stand up in certain games, a lot of persons wouldn't expect us to do that. Being in a man's world and standing up as a female is really a big thing.

"It hasn't always been a smooth road for the official, who noted that she has now gained the respect of most RSPL players - even if there are still a few who seem to believe thatwomen have no business calling men's matches.

"You still have some players with the mentality that because I'm a woman, I can't possibly know the game as well as them," Samuels said. "Even if you make a decision, they think is not right, they're telling you that you need to ref a woman's game. The majority of them respect the decisions whenever I make them, but you're still gonna have some troublesome players on the field.

"You always have to look out for them. At the same time, when you know the players, you have to know how to deal with them."

However, Samuels said that it took her some time to develop that relationship with players, who trust her to make the right calls in their games.

FIRST GAME

The Glenmuir High School alumnus from Sandy Bay, Clarendon, got her start in the game in 2004 and said that fellow official Dave Meikle introduced her to football officiating. She shared that Meikel took her to a referees' seminar in St Mary, where she gained her earliest qualification.

She also credits Meikel and another referee, Lloyd Reader, for guiding her through her first game in a parish league match.

"I was very, very nervous about it," she said. "When he (Meikle) introduced me to my first game, I told him that I couldn't do it. I was nervous, but being that I knew him, I was a bit more relaxed, but I was still hesitant to make certain decisions because I was still new to officiating," Samuels reflected.

She, however, added that over time, she got used to crowds being abusive, and at the same time, has learned not to spend too much time thinking about incorrect decisions if they do happen.

Another high-profile Jamaican female referee, Odette Hamilton, was recently shortlisted for CONCACAF's Female Referee of the Year award.

rachid.parchment@gleanerjm.com