With all due respect for a great ET poster, I must rebuke brother AAA for his obvious lack of expertise in the area of the proficiency of a professional referee.
Brother AAA, nobody...nobody who makes it to the level of "pro" in the the NFL, NBA, or MLB should be referred to as a dimwit.
These guys can start at the bottom and pursue their dream of climbing up to the pro level for many years.
Some make it...Many don't.
If you think that half of them should be let go, you'd go nuts if you knew what those with lesser skills would provide to the games, once they were "promoted" to the pro level.
Being a pro level official is not something that is achieved lightly.
It is a highly significant event to attain that level of expertise.
Now, to your question about the female ref: This is just my opinion, of course, but I'm betting it was done for the PC reason.
Women, in the sports culture, more especially in the area of football, have typically not been participants in the referee side of the game.
So, unless this woman is an exception, it would be reasonable in today's PC culture that that is why she has been picked.
But, let's give her a chance to prove herself.
The answer will soon become very clear.