"A look into the world of female referees: they're beautiful, they're good
and they chain themselves" is the rather original title which appeared in
the "Il Giornale" newspaper the other day . . . continued

The Good One
The article exalts the world of women and sports, beginning with the young gypsy girl who successfully managed to pick-pocket and outrun the (former) world's fastest man, Ben Johnson, in Rome, to mixed boys' and girls' youth sector tournaments (where the girls often beat the boys), to Ms. Nicole Moudi-Petignat of Switzerland (she refereed the U.S.-China final last summer) and her recent successful performance in the Austrian men's championship game between Sturm Graz and Ried. Moudi-Petignat was called up six days ago to referee the game, a first for the Austrian championship.
The Swiss referee called a penalty kick after only five minutes into the match, just to show the "boys" who exactly was in charge, in front of 10,300 people in the A. Schwarzenegger stadium. The crowd had come primarily to watch the Swiss referee. The game ended 4-2 for S. Graz with a total of five cautions, one red card and two pks, one for each team. After the game, Ried's president diplomatically congratulated her for the outstanding work (Ried had not lost a game until its confrontation with Graz). She also received the thumbs-up from the press, the public and both the winners and losers.

Almost everyone was in favor of Moudi-Petignat's performance, except Juventus' head coach Carlo Ancelotti (who also coaches one of the world's highest paid players, Alex Del Piero). Upon hearing about this "first" in men's soccer, the former AC Milan and Italian national team player had this to say about female refs: "I hope to retire as a coach well before the day that women will also referee men's games". So much for equal opportunity at the moment in ItalyŠ

The Chained One
Argentine Florinda Romano also knows a thing or two about what it's like to face the world of machismo in men's soccer. Romano became almost more famous than Maradona (she recently cautioned him during a friendly match) because of her somewhat spectacular reaction to the Argentine FA's decision not to allow her to referee in the men's 1st division championship. She was suspended at the beginning of the season for four months by the FA's president Julio Grondona for having chained herself in front of the FA's headquarters in a sign of protest. She also went as far as insulting Grondona for his decision to suspend her. Determined at all costs to bring across her point to FA officials, Romano staged a hunger strike that lasted seven days before she was urgently rushed to a hospital. The extreme action by Romano apparently scared her enough to change her mind. Nevertheless, Romano doesn't plan to give up so easily. "Perhaps the hunger strike is a dangerous way of protesting, but I want Grondona to tell me to my face that I can't referee in the 1st division". If the category for "tenacity" were ever to be awarded along with the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe awards, then Romano should definitely deserve it.

The Abused Ones
Taking a swing at a referee in Italian soccer is not (unfortunately) such a new thing, but when a woman takes a swing at another woman, especially a referee, then it does raise a few eyebrows. In a recent 3rd division game near Rome, referee Sonia Pliller got smacked with a KO punch by a player who didn't agree much with her refereeing. Pliller went down for the count, with her whistle still in her mouth, and stayed there. Ms. De Toni was somewhat luckier when she refereed a men's Italian 2nd division amateur match awhile ago. Player Alessandro Veronese saw more than just a red card when De Toni threw him out of the match. In a state of apparent rage, he ran towards De Toni. The referee, expecting probably the same fate as her colleague Pliller, covered her face in terror and prayed for the best. As Veronese approached her within jabbing distance he indeed smacked herŠwith a kiss on either cheek! He then disappeared into the dressing room, much to De Toni's relief.

The Covered Ones
Women in Iran are still apparently forbidden from entering stadia to watch men's matches. The newly formed women's soccer federation constantly navigates in dangerous waters: women's matches cannot be played in front of men and the first tournament was played in a closed arena without television cameras as the women were not wearing the traditional Islamic veil known as the chador which goes from head to foot. Refereeing a game in this condition is difficult, to say the least.

The Uncovered Ones
Finally, there's the case of 31 year-old Martha Liliana Toro, a
Columbian referee who works at the national level. Toro was ordered awhile ago to refrain from refereeing in a mini-like skirt in favour of tighter shorts

Maudi-Petignat, Romano, Plitter, De Toni, Iranian women and Toro's determination to pursue their passion for soccer can be only and simply applauded.