A referee has been given a three-week suspension after
deciding who kicked a match off via a game of rock, paper, scissors after
forgetting his coin.

David McNamara was in charge of a Women’s Super League
game against Manchester City and Reading on 26 October when he accidently left
the coin in his dressing room.

A coin toss is a requirement under the laws of the
game, and FA women’s refereeing manager Joanna Simpson told The Times: “The
referee forgot his coin and, in that moment, in a TV game, he was really pushed
for time.

“He should have been more prepared, he should have had
a coin. It was disappointing, it’s not appropriate, it’s very unprofessional. ”

The incident involved England and City captain Steph
Houghton and Reading skipper Kirsty Pearce and the game ended one-a-piece.

Credit: PA

McNamara will be suspended from Monday, 26 November to
Sunday, 16 December.

An FA spokesperson said: “The FA can confirm the 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 FA 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.”