A female referee stopped a football game in the Catalan second division after a spectator told her to “go wash the dishes” on Sunday.

Spectator removed

Marta Galego, who was refereeing the match between UE Valls and Cambrils Unió, brought play to a halt after hearing the sexist comment come from the stands and ordered the offending person to be removed so the game could be restarted.

Full screen VALLS - CAMBRIL UNIO DIARIO AS (DIARIO AS)

The spectator, a club member of UE Valls, took three minutes to expelled from the ground after which the game resumed. Other fans at the game applauded the referee’s decision, which Galego noted down in her pad, surely with the intention of reporting the incident to the Catalan Football Federation.

Making a stance

Unfortunately there have been other incidents in Spanish football recently where abuse has led to actions being taken by the individual concerned or associated bodies. In Andalusia, an openly gay referee quit his job after the verbal attacks became intolerable.

In another case, the Spanish Football Federation’s disciplinary committee announced that it is to open proceedings against Sporting Gijón for an “incident among the crowd” during the match against Athletic Bilbao in mid-August. Monkey noises were being directed at Iñaki Williams from one of the stands.

Full screen Athletic Bilbao's Iñaki Williams.

AS will bring you the report from any investigations as soon as they are released.