History was made recently when Amy Fearn became the first woman referee to take charge of a Football League match. We spoke to one of East Lancashire’s few women referees about the highs and lows of blowing the whistle.

THE challenge of keeping 22 alpha males in line would send most women running for the hills.

But Blackburn’s female football referee Aisling Duckworth takes it all in her stride.

“I absolutely love it,” said Ashley, a reception teacher at Holly Grove special school, Burnley.

“I enjoy working with people and I enjoy being the boss!

"I think everyone should have a go at refereeing because you develop very useful skills.

"When you’re working on a Sunday morning at a men’s league match where half of them have been out the night before, you learn quickly how to handle people in hostile situations.”

Aisling was introduced to refereeing through her father, Peter Duckworth, a respected referee for North West Counties and Unibond leagues.

Initially it was just a way of paying her way through university.

“I thought it would look good on my CV and would be a fun part-time job to help while I studied for my PGCE at St Martin’s College, Lancaster,” said Aisling, whose brother Greg is also a referee.

“I ended up picking up a lot of college games and in the end it took off so much I didn’t even need to take out a student loan. I looked at it as being paid to keep fit.”

Aisling admits the skills she uses in the classroom come in handy during a game.

“You can definitely tell I’m a teacher when I get on the pitch,” she laughed.

“My teacher training helps me know how to manage behaviour when things turn difficult.”

But Aisling’s experiences haven’t all been positive, and she admitted there have been times she’s experienced sexism at the hands of players.

“It’s really hard being a female in football,” she said.

“At a local level it’s great because people know and respect me as I’ve done it for quite a few years, but you can run into problems.

"I had one incident about a year ago at Pleckgate. One player made lots of abusive comments such as: ‘You’re a f***ing woman, what do you know?’.

"I ended up showing him the red card and he spat in my face. Thankfully it’s not usually that extreme.

"I think players can find it a bit intimidating when a woman referee comes onto the football field, especially because I’m quite a girly girl and have my nail extensions, long dark ponytail and tan.

“Normally the most that happens is that I get a few wolf whistles when I come out, or a fan might chant: ‘Does your husband know you’re here?’”

Aisling said she hoped the case of Amy Fearn, who made history by becoming the first woman referee to take charge of a Football League match earlier this month, might be a step forward for women in the sport.

“It’s a positive thing without a doubt,” she said.

“But I can’t see women ever being allowed in top flight football any time soon.

"That can be disheartening and it can put you off. When I was in the academy training, even though my fitness was far better than most of the lads there and my marks were higher, I knew it was unrealistic to expect to rise as high as them because I’m female.”

Aisling believes that being a good referee is not merely about making the correct decisions.

“Fitness is key because you can make all the right decisions but if you’re not fit enough to keep up with play you can’t sell a decision.

"You also have to be able to communicate effectively with players. If you can’t then you’re in a no-win situation.”

And she encouraged other women to give refereeing a go.

“I’d tell women to go for it and the younger you start the better.

"Don’t be disheartened by the lack of women in the game — if you work hard enough you can be paid to travel all over the world to referee international matches.

"It’s an amazing opportunity.”