Barnet head coach Dean Brennan claimed a discussion about England forward Lauren James was behind a comment he made on the touchline which landed him a nine-match ban for abusing a woman referee and referencing her gender.
Brennan was charged by the FA with an aggravated breach of Rule E3 following the incident during Barnet’s home defeat to Shrewsbury on September 6, during which he was sent off midway through the first half for dissent by referee Kirsty Dowle.
The 45-year-old denied the charge at a hearing but an independent commission found otherwise, and also handed him a £2,000 fine and ordered him to attend a mandatory education course.
The written reasons for the commission’s ruling revealed that Brennan was overheard by the fourth official saying, “Women are allowed to ref the men’s game but can they play the men’s game.” The fourth official subsequently relayed Brennan’s comments to referee Dowle, who sent him off for offensive language.
Brennan denied the fourth official’s version of events and stated that the words he had said to the official were, “Why can’t men play in the women’s game and why can’t women play in the men’s game?”
In a statement to the FA in December, Brennan claimed his question had arisen following a discussion the day before the match around England and Chelsea star James, and the possibility of women playing in the men’s game and vice-versa.
Brennan claimed his comment had been “totally misinterpreted and then mis-recorded”, and also suggested the fourth official “had misheard him, possibly due to his Irish accent”.
Brennan added that, following the discussion about James and the possibility of men and women mixing in the same game, he had been “musing” on the topic and had posed the question in a factual – and therefore not discriminatory – way.
However, the commission found that that his comment was “more likely” made in the context of his frustration at the referee’s decision-making in the first half.
The three-person panel acknowledged that there were different accounts of Brennan’s comments, but ruled that even if he had said what he claimed to have said, “this would nevertheless constitute a breach of Rules E3.1 and E3.2”.
The written reasons outlined: “The comment was made to the official during the match and in direct reference to the referee who was female. Given that the use of these words was preceded by comments made by (Brennan) to the official which were critical of the referee’s decision-making, this naturally results in them being insulting when taking into account all of the circumstances.”
The charge of acting in an improper manner by using abusive and/or insulting words towards an official was treated as an “aggravated breach” by the FA due to the reference – express or implied – to gender.
The penalty for an aggravated breach of rule E3 is a ban of between six and 12 games, with the commission finding that Brennan’s position of responsibility and his history of having previously breached the rule on three other occasions merited a punishment towards the upper end of the scale.
In a statement, Barnet acknowledged the written reasons and said the club “will continue to support Dean moving forward”.
In his own statement, Brennan said: “Whilst the panel have come to their conclusion, which I have to respect, I do not agree with their decision.”
He added: “There is a place in football for everyone, it’s the greatest sport on the planet.”
Brennan, who led Barnet back into the English Football League with promotion from the National League last season, will be unable to take charge of the team until the visit of Cambridge United on March 28.
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