Diversity in Sports: Premier League Referees

by Archie Brown 

Sunny Gill

On 26th December, Sam Allison became the first black referee to take charge of an English Premier League game in 15 years, as Sheffield United played Luton Town. Three days before, on 23rd December, Rebecca Welch officiated in the top-flight game between Fulham and Burnley, making her the first ever female referee to take charge of a Premier League fixture. Society’s reaction to these events have greatly differed, with some believing that it's too little too late, while many others think that it’s a positive step for diversity. 

Yet, in today’s welcomely diverse society, why has it taken so long for these milestones to come into place in football, the national game? Why couldn't it have happened, say, 20 years ago? After all these years, why now, why so late? For semi-professional referee Ashley Hickson-Lovence, the appointment of Welch is "tinged with a bit of sadness" as he feels it is something that "should be happening more regularly". 

As half of the UK population is female and combined, 14% (nearly 10 million!) are Asian or black, why is representation from these groups of society officiating in what is meant to be the nation's sport so poor? 

9.4% of referees in England are from BAME backgrounds. 

43% of footballers in the Premier League are Black.

34% of footballers in the EFL are Black. 

1.4% of footballers in the Premier League are Asian.

2% of referees in the top 7 divisions are Black or Asian. 

Is it because they don’t like football?  Of course not.  The women's game has never been stronger. Almost half of football players in the top four leagues are from ethnic minorities. Half!  Is it because women and ethnic minorities are just not capable men, as Luton Town's manager, Mike Newell said in 2006 - “..if you start bringing in women, you have big problems..”. Of course not, and thankfully dinosaurs such as Newell are no longer in the game.

So is it something else, something problematic. Is it because there is still too much discrimination?  The data would suggest that this remains the reason. 

The issue has long been recognised by the sports official bodies, not least the FA that has had numerous attempts to fix the problem, with the latest being new targets to increase the diversity of match officials across the footballing pyramid and wants an increase of 1,000 women referees and 1,000 black or Asian referees at all levels in three years. 

But the FA have been saying they are going to fix this for years - arguing that they need to take diversity really seriously and create opportunities for everyone. However, talk is cheap. 

Some would argue that we should be celebrating change in any form. In this day and age, we should all celebrate and respect change. Humanity should be open to change- bringing in different genders and different ethnicities-and not see it as a negative. In this context, yes, it has taken longer than it should have, but it’s happened! This may just be the start of a route to equality, and this is just paving the way. It may be a small change that should have taken place a long time ago, but these particular two referees deserve it. They deserve their chance to become role models, to become known, to show their fantastic ability at what they do best on the biggest stage, in the limelight. A shining light in the diversity of refereeing, is Sunny Gill, football's highest ranked Asian referee.

However, Gill, too, calls for more BAME referees. Gill also comments that racism may be a key factor to why there are few BAME referees. He also believes that racism gets spoken about more than any action being taken. He believes that it's not a case of simply bringing in more BAME officials, but about making sure there is a support network and a platform to progress- to make referees feel safe and secure whilst referring.  And the same goes for helping women. It's frightening that there are only 4 Black or Asian referees in the top 7 leagues in England. Before Sam Allison, there has not been a BAME referee to officiate in a Premier League game since Uriah Rennie in 2008. Last season, not a single one of the 79 referees in any of the top 4 tiers of English football was from a BAME background. 

So. yes, the FA are planning this and planning that, but I think this goes perfectly to the FA, less talk, more action. There are shining lights out there doing all they can, and the FA have the power to do that. The FA needs to act soon. Words match action.