Durban - Who would have thought that a flag in a woman's hand at an English Premier League match could lead to furious debate, the sacking of a sports presenter and the resignation of another?
Women may have come a long way in the workplace over recent times but discrimination still manages to rear its ugly head on the soccer pitch.
BuaNews examines the issue of female referees in soccer by talking to our own women who share their stories.
Recently in England, Sky duo Andy Gray and Richard Keys made international headlines for their sexist comments on a female referee, Sian Massey.
Massey was one of the match officials in a Premier League match against Liverpool and Wolves - before the game Gray and Keys made comments about her ability to do her job. The sports presenters were unaware that their microphones were switched on when Keys said, "Somebody better get down there and explain offside to her" to which Gray added, "Women don't know the offside rule". The television station dismissed Gray and Keys resigned over the furore.
Meanwhile, back home the South African Football Association (SAFA) has been hard at work to ensure more female referees are equipped to officiate matches.
Sebabasto Malop (22) from Soweto has been busy with the whistle for three years now. It all started with a flyer that caught her attention which called for female referees in Johannesburg.
Malop now takes charge of games played in the Vodacom (third tier of men's league) and Sasol (women's provincial league).
"I played football when I was five-years-old. I was the only female in my house growing up. All my brothers used to play soccer with me and I fell in love with the game," says Malop.
Later on, the idea of refereeing became more endearing to Malop and she sought out the necessary training by attending classes provided by SAFA.
While she thoroughly enjoys what she does, Malop says her job can be extremely challenging. On different occasions she has been a recipient of verbal abuse by male players, she was once told to "go home and cook because football is a man's game".
These comments though only make Malop want to work harder. "I see this as a source of encouragement."
"You need to speak gently but firmly. I give them respect because I want respect back," Malop adds.
The bright youngster says she doesn't judge other referees when they make poor decisions because they are her colleagues. "I try to understand what they did wrong and learn from them".
There is a shortage of women officials and Malop challenges women to take up refereeing and change the face of South African soccer.
She has set her sights on being selected to referee Premier Soccer League (PSL) games for now and would love the opportunity to work in the English Premier League one day.
Thirty-nine-year-old Joyce Skosana from Mpumalanga has been on the field since 1997 and makes it clear that women are here to stay.
Skosana is adamant that the limiting mindset in South Africa must change and SAFA should continue to hold workshops for women to improve their skills and knowledge.
At the moment there are four female officials (one referee and three assistants) in the PSL and two assistant referees on the FIFA international panel.
"Women are not always taken seriously, therefore you have to know the game very well," says Skosana.
It is vital for women to train every day, get experience and continuously visit the law book.
"They can shout and scream all they want; you must ignore that and do your job. Don't give your power away, keep that in your own hands," adds Skosana.
She believes that women make great referees because they give a 110 percent all the time - they always want to do things properly and need to be given opportunities in the PSL.
Skosana praised SAFA for the workshops held, like the most recent in Durban, which trained 60 referees and assessors. "I appreciate all that SAFA has done for me and would like to see this training continue."
Pretoria based Lebo Lefhiedi is an assessor - her job is to observe referees and his or her team and then give them feedback after matches. An assessor would look at referee's presentation, punctuality and on field performance.
Her refereeing experience is impressive - Lefhiedi has been officiating matches since 1989 and has seen it all. She recently became an assessor in the Vodacom and Sasol leagues this season.
Lefhiedi says there is a shortage of female assessors in South Africa and women need to come out and make their presence felt.
While she commends SAFA for the work they are doing to empower women, she points out that funding is still an issue.
"We need the support of our male counterparts and sponsors as well. Women's soccer still suffers from a lack of funding - therefore we don't progress to where we want to go. We are still lagging behind and this has always been a challenge. There isn't funding for us to expand our knowledge. It's great that SASOL got involved to make things easier," says Lefhiedi.
In order to deal with the issue of discrimination, Lefhiedi says women need to work on their physicality and learn more about the game all the time.
Ahead of the Durban workshop SAFA's head of referees Adeel Carelse said the time has come for the association to implement a specialised course for female referees.
SAFA hopes these courses will allow women to improve and apply the skills in their provinces before the national referees' seminar in June; where the selection of the national panel of referees will be done.
Meanwhile, football fans share their views on the inclusion of female referees in the global sport:
Altaaf Sheik says: "Women must be given a chance. Look at men and the incompetent decisions they make over and over again. Because they have been doing this for so long, they have got complacent. Females have an uncanny desire to be right most of the times, therefore you can be assured that they will do a great job. They know the spotlight will be on them and their moves will be scrutinised".
"I am not sure why women would want to do this but I don't believe there is any reason why they shouldn't be given a chance to referee. I think they would do a great job, like with every other thing," explains *Karyn Smith.
Raymond Silinga says: "Why not? Women are as capable as men to do the job and I believe it will also bridge the gender relations between men and women. You do find women being fourth officials in big PSL matches".
"They shouldn't be allowed to because it's a man's game," believes *David Naidoo.
"As long as women can handle the pressure, then absolutely. It's just that men get so worked up about the game and become very verbal and intimidating," explains Kresan Govender.
Gaurie Sathiah: "If the referee is experienced and qualified to do the job then their gender shouldn't matter. If females can play the sport then surely they can also referee the game!"
Rowan Sewchurran: "I think it's a novel idea but impractical to implement. Women are not taken seriously enough in their own communities. But that shouldn't be a deterrent to this ground breaking initiative".
