Referee Suspended for Using Rock-Paper-Scissors Instead of Coin Flip

Referee David McNamara was suspended three weeks after being charged with “not acting in the best interests of the game” prior to a Women’s Super League match. McNamara was punished for using rock, paper, scissors to determine which team would choose its side, instead of going with the traditional approach of a coin toss. He used the unorthodox method after realizing that he left his coin in the dressing room. 

“This follows an incident […] 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,” a spokesman for the English Football Association explained. McNamara violated Law 8 of the FA rule book, which indicates “a coin is tossed and the team that wins the toss decides which goal it will attack in the first half of the match” prior to the start of a match or extra time.  

McNamara made an honest mistake and simply panicked under the pressure, but FA women’s refereeing manager Joanna Stimpson showed no mercy, dragging the hell out of him in an interview with the The Times. “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.” She also referred to his snafu as “a moment of madness.” We’re still talking about a coin toss, right? 

McNamara can (and should) appeal his suspension.