The referee’s name is Stacey Pearson. She is a FIFA WSL and National League referee and since the Truro v Dorking game she has officiated 2 games in the NL N/S, most recent being 20th Aug (10 days after Truro game) So while she has made a huge error of judgement in the kit clash incident, I don’t see the possibility of her being reclassified.
It should not have needed the Captains to have thought of the solution, but a solution from any direction was appropriate. If the colour of both teams were the same on both sides as often is the case then another solution would needed to have been found (there was one other possibility that has been mentioned in previous threads). The found solution would have been appropriate in 5-a-side, and on the Sunday morning for many teams so no real reason cannot be used as a last resort in the National league especially with numbered shorts.
And nor should she in any shape or form. The only error perhaps was the game didn’t start in the same way as it finished.
As I understand it, the margins are very very tight. Allowing the sides to kick off would not bode well at all for this report. The Social Media clips demonstrate a lack of leadership and a tunnel vision to kick off when everyone knew it was insane to do so
As with any Referee, there is a way to go about things in a Post Match debrief with the appointed Observer, as well as with the subsequent written report, which no doubt contained some learning points. However, on the other side of the coin, she was faced with a challenging situation and the game was fully played without any real issues once the shirts had been turned inside out. Credit must be given for that.
I know who she is and I feel bad about speaking publicly about the game
