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Spanish player says referee tried to ask her out during game

The Acme Whistle A British Classic And The Referees Favourite

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - JUNE 07: An ACME Thunderer whistle is displayed in the ACME Whistles factory on June 7, 2010 in Birmingham, England. ACME Whistles, founded in 1870, are the world market leader in whistle manufacture and export to 119 countries. The company was the first to manufacture a soccer referee’s whistle in 1878. In 1884 they created the ACME Thunderer whistle which was widely adopted as a universal referee’s whistle. The increase in stadium noise brought about by fully enclosed stadia led ACME to develop the Tornado 2000, the world most powerful whistle, which has been used in FIFA international matches, Champion’s League finals, Premiership games and FA Cup finals. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

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MADRID (AP) A Spanish soccer player who says a referee tried to ask her out during a game will not file a formal complaint because it’s her word against his.

Elena Pavel accused referee Santiago Quijada Alcon of trying to provoke her by asking her on a date in Sporting Huelva’s first-division game against Santa Teresa on Sunday.

Pavel tells Marca newspaper she felt “humiliated” but won’t take further action, partly because nobody else witnessed the incident.

According to Pavel, the referee said he wanted to grab a cup of coffee with her after the game. She said she told him to keep the focus on his officiating.

The referee denied saying anything to Pavel, and the local referee’s association said Wednesday it might take action against Pavel because of her accusation.