Dean Brennan, the manager of Barnet, has been charged by the Football Association (FA) for allegedly making sexist comments to a female referee, Kirsty Dowle. This marks the first instance of an EFL manager facing such a charge.

The alleged incident occurred during Barnet's League Two match against Shrewsbury in September. Brennan was sent off by Dowle for dissent during the first half, which reportedly led to an angry reaction and the alleged offensive remarks. Dowle included the comments in her post-match report, triggering an FA investigation that has now resulted in the charge.

Brennan is charged with an aggravated breach of FA Rule E3.1, which pertains to improper conduct and the use of abusive or insulting language. The "aggravated" aspect of the breach refers to the alleged sexist nature of the comments. The FA rule E3.1 relates to cases of alleged sexism.

Cases of sexism in professional football management are relatively rare, making precedents few. One recent example involved Marc White, the owner and manager of Dorking Wanderers, who received a six-match touchline ban last summer for offensive remarks about women made on a podcast. White's comments, made on "Under the Cosh," included the line "More women refs now, so you have to pay a bit more respect… you have to pay a bit more respect, like help them park". The FA charged White with an aggravated breach of rule E3.1 in May, and the ban was imposed the following month.

The FA introduced a minimum five-match ban for proven cases of discrimination in 2013, following the Luis Suárez/Patrice Evra case. Brennan potentially faces a six-game ban if found guilty.

This charge comes at a time when women's representation in football is under increased scrutiny. While the women's game has seen significant growth in popularity and professionalism, coaching roles are still largely dominated by men. Recent data indicates that a small percentage of top teams are coached by women.