What kind of world are we living in when a schoolgirl is reduced to tears by so-called grown ups on a Sunday morning park pitch? We can bury our head in the sand and pretend things like this don’t happen. But this is exactly what happened, and is happening and worryingly is on an upward trend in frequency
Gabby, a 14-year-old referee, was left in floods of tears during an U7 game - and to make things worse it was her debut match since qualifying as a ref.
This was not an isolated incident. Referees of all ages up and down the country are choosing to hang up their whistles and leave the game in their droves rather than running the gauntlet of hate from people who really should know better.
