West Ham defender Hawa Cissoko defends red card record as she says WSL referees treat her harshly because she has been portrayed as an ‘aggressive’ player

Hawa Cissoko has been sent off three times in 47 WSL appearances
Cissoko has received more reds than any other player in the league’s history
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West Ham defender Hawa Cissoko believes she has been given harsher treatment from Women’s Super League referees who wrongly perceive her as being an ‘aggressive’ player.

Cissoko has been sent off three times in 47 WSL appearances since joining the Hammers in 2020, the most of any player in the league’s history.

The defender’s most high-profile sending off came against Aston Villa last season, with the defender shown red for striking Sarah Mayling in the face. Cissoko was given an extra two-game ban on top of her automatic three-match suspension and fined £200.

While Cissoko accepted her punishment was fair, the defender believes her previous red cards were not and as a result she is viewed in a more negative light by officials.

‘I think some people have made a picture around me as a player that I am aggressive and stuff like that,’ Cissoko said.

Hawa Cissoko believes that she has been given harsher treatment from WSL referees

‘But if you look, I think I do less fouls than any other defender. Sometimes I finish games and I haven’t made a foul.

‘To take my red card against Tottenham, it was two yellow cards. The first one was a mistake from the referee, that is fine. The second one was for kicking the ball [away]. She gave a free kick and we were not back to defend, we just want to go back to our box and she gives me the second yellow.

‘The first red card I got here was a red card for a handball but it wasn’t a handball, it was a mistake from the referee.

‘The one against Aston Villa, that is a red card, that is fair, but the other player only got a yellow card and I think she started it so should have a second yellow card. I think if it was the opposite, me instead of her, I would have been sent off. People have this picture of me but it is not true, I am calm, I can be calm on the pitch.’

Asked how she changes referees’ perception of her, Cissoko continued: ‘I can’t. I can’t really because if I want to change the picture I have to change my game and if I change the way I play, I won’t be good.

‘I’m fast, I’m strong and I’m powerful. If I stop being me, West Ham are going to rip up my contract and I will be playing Sunday League!

Cissoko has been sent off three times in 47 WSL appearances since joining the Hammers

‘I have to stay me. I was given a yellow card before and for me it wasn’t a yellow. I went to her [the ref] and I said ‘Now I can’t defend. The next tackle I do you are going to give me another yellow card so now you ruin my game.’

‘When I go to them I try to be respectful, I speak with a low voice all the time. I have had the same with male and female refs. Once I was tackled and I felt like it was a foul and he didn’t and I said ‘Hey, ref, this is a foul!’ and he said ‘No, just calm down’.

‘This is not the moment to say ‘calm down’, just ignore me and I will calm down!

‘I think it’s just the misunderstanding between players and referees. I think we just need to speak to them. I will understand them more and they will understand more.

‘As players, everyone wants to be a journalist or a coach, but I think after my career I would like to become a referee. Maybe I need to start learning with the under 15’s and go to their game and referee, maybe it will change my mind [perspective]. No top level player in the men’s or women’s game has become a referee. Maybe I can be the first one.’

It is understood Cissoko would be welcome to attend a referee camp and or take part in a course.

Cissoko received racist abuse on social media after her red card against Villa last season. The French international admitted she was surprised by the reaction and said players need greater support and protection.

WSL RED CARDS

Player

Hawa Cissoko

Gilly Flaherty

Georgia Stanway

Rachel Rowe

Ella Toone

Jemma Rose

Leandra Little

Sophie Walton

Grace McCatty

Freda Ayisi

Red cards

Games played

171

102

‘It’s not that I thought the men were lying or that it wasn’t happening to them, but it never happened in women’s football, or maybe if it did then the women were quiet.

‘I didn’t expect it would happen to me, especially when the people that did it don’t even watch our games. If it was from people who follow the league I would understand a little bit more but when it was from not even French or English people I was like ‘You should focus on your own business.’

‘I realised, okay, some people are just racist and they just find every opportunity to be racist and say whatever they want.

‘When I understood this, it was easier to deal with because at the beginning you take things personally, you think they don’t like you when they see you every week, they hate me, but when I realised it was outside of WSL fans I thought ‘I don’t care.’

‘I know that some people, they send messages because they know that nothing is going to happen even if you tell them you’re going to the police, they know nothing will happen. We need more security.’

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