A soccer referee in the UK has been suspended for using a game of rock, paper, scissors instead of a coin toss to make a decision before a match.
David McNamara will spend the next three weeks on the sidelines after deciding a Women’s Super League kick-off with the children’s game because he left his coin in the dressing room.
The laws of the English Football Association state “a coin is tossed and the team that wins the toss decides which goal it will attack in the first half of the match.”
McNamara clearly did not do that, hence the suspension for “not acting in the best interests of the game.”
Joanna Stimpson, the women’s refereeing manager for the association, described McNamara’s conduct as “a moment of madness.”
“The referee forgot his coin and in that moment, in a TV game, he was really pushed for time,” Stimpson said. “He should have been more prepared, he should have had a coin. It was disappointing, it’s not appropriate, it’s very unprofessional.”
The match was between Manchester City and Reading and the clubs played to a 1-1 draw.
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