Katie McCabe lets out a nervous laugh. “I’m not sure how outspoken I can be about this without receiving some sort of fine,” says the Arsenal winger when asked about her relationship with referees. “It has happened to me before, where I’ve had officials say certain comments to me, indicating for me to behave before I’ve even stepped foot on the pitch.”
For the best part of a decade, McCabe has been gracing the Women’s Super League with her passion, intrepid style of play and heart-on-sleeve personality. The Irish playmaker has earned a growing legion of fans in north London, where she has become something of a cult heroine among the Arsenal faithful.
McCabe has been a reliable attacking linchpin for Arsenal in recent seasons and has a track record of producing moments of magic with her left foot. Her wonder goal from a corner when captaining the Republic of Ireland at the 2023 World Cup was one of the moments of the tournament, while she scored from an impossible angle in Arsenal’s 4-3 win over West Ham last month.
🥁 The votes are in…
💥 Katie McCabe’s fierce strike against West Ham has won our March Goal of the Month!
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) April 10, 2025
Never one to shy away from a 50-50 challenge, her pantomime-villain persona has found her falling into referees’ bad books. In a recent interview with McCabe, Fara Williams, the England player turned pundit, pointed out that her former club-mate had been sent off only twice in 10 years despite the “crazy perception of you with referees that you’re this hot-headed lunatic”.
Dublin native McCabe, who grew up idolising former Ireland and Chelsea winger Damien Duff, puts her raw competitiveness down to growing up in a family of 10 siblings, bossing it in boys’ teams from a young age as well as stints in basketball, Gaelic football and Olympic handball. She has grown used to raised eyebrows and unwanted attention from officials, but admits to being taken aback when, recently, it extended to pre-match exchanges in the tunnel.
“It can rub people up the wrong way,” says McCabe, being careful not to name names. “You think you’re in a calm moment and you’re going into a massive game and something you’ve prepared all week before, to then be stunned by comments like that from officials.
“It just wouldn’t be a nice look if it’s the other way around, where players are saying to the referee before the game, ‘You’re going to make the right call today? You’re going to get the bookings?’ It just doesn’t happen. So I just found it a bit distasteful, really.”
In an ironic twist, McCabe is speaking to Telegraph Sport after flying back early from international duty, having been suspended for Ireland’s 2-1 win over Greece earlier this month following her second booking in just three Nations League outings this year.
Of the five yellow cards she has picked up this season in the WSL, she was shown two in quick succession by referee Emily Heaslip to be sent off in an emotionally-charged encounter at Stamford Bridge in January after a penalty was awarded to Chelsea.
Late drama…
Penalty to Chelsea and a red card for Katie McCabe 😲#BBCFootball#WSL#CHEARSpic.twitter.com/4OXOUDmXFY
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) January 26, 2025
Does she believe women’s footballers are disproportionately punished for dissent compared to their male counterparts in the Premier League?
“I think it depends on who you are,” says McCabe. “If you do show too much emotion, then I think you’re made an example of, which is frustrating because we work all season, all week, to perform, perform for the fans, perform for people watching at home, perform for ourselves and the club.
“You’re in a high-pressure performance sport, you’re going to show emotion at times. All the great athletes in the world in all different sports have shown some level of frustration. But I think depending on who you are, that can be a good thing or it’s a bad thing. It’s either used against you or it’s not.”
One issue she is unequivocal about is the need for the league’s referees to be equipped with better resources. Last October, Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor reiterated calls for goal-line technology in the league after Amanda Nilden was awarded a goal which appeared not to cross the line in her team’s 5-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. Weeks later, Matt Beard, the then Liverpool manager, claimed match officials had cost his side the Merseyside derby after replays showed a foul for a penalty had occurred outside the box.
“They need more support,” says McCabe. “They’re not full-time. For us to really take our game seriously – it’s fine margins in this league, especially at the top end of the table where big calls are important – if they don’t have support to become full-time and to close that gap, maybe the introduction of VAR, or whatever it may be, needs to come in to support them. But I don’t make those rules.”
She will be looking to avoid falling foul of the referee’s whistle on Saturday, when Arsenal face a crunch Women’s Champions League semi-final first leg against eight-time winners Lyon. “We’ll definitely need to be at our best for sure,” says McCabe. “This is what it’s all about. It’s what you work all season for, for these moments.”
Katie McCabe is an ambassador for WHOOP, the human performance company
Katie McCabe lets out a nervous laugh. “I’m not sure how outspoken I can be about this without receiving some sort of fine,” says the Arsenal winger when asked about her relationship with referees. “It has happened to me before, where I’ve had officials say certain comments to me, indicating for me to behave before I’ve even stepped foot on the pitch.”
For the best part of a decade, McCabe has been gracing the Women’s Super League with her passion, intrepid style of play and heart-on-sleeve personality. The Irish playmaker has earned a growing legion of fans in north London, where she has become something of a cult heroine among the Arsenal faithful.
McCabe has been a reliable attacking linchpin for Arsenal in recent seasons and has a track record of producing moments of magic with her left foot. Her wonder goal from a corner when captaining the Republic of Ireland at the 2023 World Cup was one of the moments of the tournament, while she scored from an impossible angle in Arsenal’s 4-3 win over West Ham last month.
🥁 The votes are in…
💥 Katie McCabe’s fierce strike against West Ham has won our March Goal of the Month!
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) April 10, 2025
Never one to shy away from a 50-50 challenge, her pantomime-villain persona has found her falling into referees’ bad books. In a recent interview with McCabe, Fara Williams, the England player turned pundit, pointed out that her former club-mate had been sent off only twice in 10 years despite the “crazy perception of you with referees that you’re this hot-headed lunatic”.
Dublin native McCabe, who grew up idolising former Ireland and Chelsea winger Damien Duff, puts her raw competitiveness down to growing up in a family of 10 siblings, bossing it in boys’ teams from a young age as well as stints in basketball, Gaelic football and Olympic handball. She has grown used to raised eyebrows and unwanted attention from officials, but admits to being taken aback when, recently, it extended to pre-match exchanges in the tunnel.
“It can rub people up the wrong way,” says McCabe, being careful not to name names. “You think you’re in a calm moment and you’re going into a massive game and something you’ve prepared all week before, to then be stunned by comments like that from officials.
“It just wouldn’t be a nice look if it’s the other way around, where players are saying to the referee before the game, ‘You’re going to make the right call today? You’re going to get the bookings?’ It just doesn’t happen. So I just found it a bit distasteful, really.”
In an ironic twist, McCabe is speaking to Telegraph Sport after flying back early from international duty, having been suspended for Ireland’s 2-1 win over Greece earlier this month following her second booking in just three Nations League outings this year.
Of the five yellow cards she has picked up this season in the WSL, she was shown two in quick succession by referee Emily Heaslip to be sent off in an emotionally-charged encounter at Stamford Bridge in January after a penalty was awarded to Chelsea.
Late drama…
Penalty to Chelsea and a red card for Katie McCabe 😲#BBCFootball#WSL#CHEARSpic.twitter.com/4OXOUDmXFY
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) January 26, 2025
Does she believe women’s footballers are disproportionately punished for dissent compared to their male counterparts in the Premier League?
“I think it depends on who you are,” says McCabe. “If you do show too much emotion, then I think you’re made an example of, which is frustrating because we work all season, all week, to perform, perform for the fans, perform for people watching at home, perform for ourselves and the club.
“You’re in a high-pressure performance sport, you’re going to show emotion at times. All the great athletes in the world in all different sports have shown some level of frustration. But I think depending on who you are, that can be a good thing or it’s a bad thing. It’s either used against you or it’s not.”
One issue she is unequivocal about is the need for the league’s referees to be equipped with better resources. Last October, Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor reiterated calls for goal-line technology in the league after Amanda Nilden was awarded a goal which appeared not to cross the line in her team’s 5-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. Weeks later, Matt Beard, the then Liverpool manager, claimed match officials had cost his side the Merseyside derby after replays showed a foul for a penalty had occurred outside the box.
“They need more support,” says McCabe. “They’re not full-time. For us to really take our game seriously – it’s fine margins in this league, especially at the top end of the table where big calls are important – if they don’t have support to become full-time and to close that gap, maybe the introduction of VAR, or whatever it may be, needs to come in to support them. But I don’t make those rules.”
She will be looking to avoid falling foul of the referee’s whistle on Saturday, when Arsenal face a crunch Women’s Champions League semi-final first leg against eight-time winners Lyon. “We’ll definitely need to be at our best for sure,” says McCabe. “This is what it’s all about. It’s what you work all season for, for these moments.”
Katie McCabe is an ambassador for WHOOP, the human performance company
