25 years old, an assistant referee who was worked up the chain of Sunday morning slugs on council tips lovingly called pitches through the non league, into the Football League and then into the Premier League. At that age, and the fact that Sian Massey happens to be a female, the response from the media is that... she doesn't know the off-side rule.
Is it any wonder with the media's blatant ignorance, sexism and even perhaps male paranoia about 'wimmen getting involved in a mahhhhhn's game' as the ex talkSPORT presenter Jon Gaunt bemoaned to Nicky Campbell on 5 Live's Breakfast Show earlier today, that the level of respect to match officials is so low at all areas of football?
Instead of Sky Sports' two "main men" in Richard Keys and Andy Gray, the latter who didn't have the guts to go into management with Everton when it was offered on a plate, it was reported, to stay within the cushy confines of Isleworth's Sky Studios, wouldn't it have been better to show respect for someone, given the inherent sexism, racism and homophobia in professional football, who has worked her arse off for years to be able to officiate 22 players in the English 'Premier League'?
Given also that Ron Atkinson was sacked for another 'off air' and 'off the cuff' remark on an ITV game to a black player, the same sort of sanction should also be given to Keys and Gray for their quite nasty attack on both Massey and a lesser attack on West Ham United's Vice Chairman Karren Brady.
These attacks have no place not just in professional football, but also on the professional media, because these days, the media is football and the football is the media.
If you want to hear the sad sexism, check out the following page: