Two teens arrested at football match for ‘aiming disgusting misogynistic chants at female ref’

TWO teenagers were arrested at a football match yesterday for allegedly aiming misogynistic chants at a woman ref.

Police said they heard the 17-year-olds insulting Rebecca Welch, 39.

AlamyRebecca Welsh had misogynistic chants aimed at her by two teenagers during a football match[/caption]

She was reffing Birmingham City’s home clash against Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship.

West Midlands cops said they arrested the pair on suspicion of a public order offence.

A spokesperson said: “We’ve arrested two boys for misogynistic chanting at the female referee.

“Our officers heard the chants being directed at the official.”

Ms Welch, of Washington, Tyne and Wear, was the first woman to referee a Championship game.

Welch took up football refereeing while she was still working in the health service. 

The former NHS admin officer started her life as a ref in university football clashes and Sunday League games. 

And while the college football encounters involving teams of female students were a “doddle”, her experience of refereeing men’s Sunday division fixtures was less straightforward.

Welch told the FA’s web site: “The first couple (of matches) I did were women’s university games and the players weren’t really that bothered about so it was a doddle.