FA suspend referee after he forgets coin and gets captains to play rock, paper, scissors

Referee David McNamara [Courtesy]

Referee David McNamara has been suspended by the FA after forgetting his coin for the pre-match coin toss - and subsequently getting the two captains to play rock, paper, scissors.

The official forgot his coin prior to the Women’s Super League match between Manchester City and Reading on October 26.

McNamara left his coin in the dressing room ahead of the televised fixture, but rather than returning to fetch it, he elected to decide ends and who would take kick-off with the game.

England Women captain Steph Houghton was one of the captains, along with Reading’s Kirsty Pearce, with the incident leaving the 1,015 in attendance at the City’s Academy Stadium baffled.

At the weekend, McNamara was fourth official at the FA Cup first round clash between Chorley and Doncaster Rovers.

But he has now been suspended for three weeks by the governing body from November 26. He has the right to appeal the decision.

An FA spokesman said: "The FA can confirm that referee David McNamara has been suspended for 21 days, starting from Monday 26 November, after accepting a charge of "not acting in the best interests of the game".

"This follows an incident in the WSL match between Manchester City and Reading on Friday 26 October when he failed to determine which team would kick off the match by the toss of a coin, as required by the Laws of the Game.

McNamara will return to duty from Monday 17 December [Courtesy]

"McNamara will return to duty from Monday 17 December."

Earlier this month, FA women’s refereeing manager Joanna Stimpson said: "The referee forgot his coin and in that moment, in a TV game, he was really pushed for time, it was a moment of madness.

"He obviously thought it was the right thing to do, he probably walked away, or the second afterwards, thought it wasn't the right thing to do.

"It's not defendable. He should have been more prepared, he should have had a coin but he didn't. It was disappointing, it's not appropriate, it's very unprofessional.

"The laws of the game state you toss a coin. I can't think it's something we are going to ignore. He wasn't taking the mick out of the game, it was just a really poor decision."