Lina Lehtovaara holds the coin toss ahead of a Women’s Champions League game between Barcelona and BenficaUEFA via Getty Images
Lehtovaara is now a leading female referee, having officiated the 2022 UEFA Women’s Champions League final between Barcelona and Lyon, as well as matches at UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 and the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“I always had a lot of self-confidence growing up,” she said. “But, as a teenage girl, it was not easy to go over to male players and show them a yellow card for shouting at me. It took time and courage to be able to build the character I needed to be a good referee.
“You cannot copy anyone – you need to have your own style. For me, I had self-confidence, and I didn’t get influenced by others. Of course, I listened to the advice I got, and then picked out the bits that I knew would suit me.”
“If there are any girls who have thought about becoming a referee, go out there and try. Hopefully you feel the joy. If you do, then you are on the right path, and anything is possible.”
Tohver has another key piece of advice for young referees.
“If you can’t admit your mistakes, that will stop you from learning and having the growth mentality you need,” he said. “If you make a mistake, you should go back and try to work out why it happened.”
Aspiring match officials can find out more information through UEFA’s Be a Referee campaign, which aims to recruit 40,000 new officials across Europe each season.
“It’s very important,” Tohver said of the campaign. “It gives young people a chance to be involved in the game at a level they could never be as players. It’s a real network.”
Learn more about UEFA’s Be a Referee campaign
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Publish date : 2024-09-27 08:20:00
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