Marta Huerta de Aza to become first female referee in men’s professional football | OneFootball

The Referee’s Committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation have promoted Marta Huerta de Aza, who goes up from Primera RFEF to Segunda next season. She will become the first female referee in men’s professional football in Spain, with the third tier not fully professional.

Huerta de Aza has already refereed international games on the women’s side of things, and in Liga F, and told Cadena Cope that Jesus Gil Manzano was her reference point in La Liga, where she hopes to end up. She explained that she hoped in the coming years a woman refereeing in the men’s game would no longer be news.

“In the end, football is football: it is difficult to referee certain players and also certain female players, I think it is not as much about gender,” Huerta de Aza responded, as she was asked about handling male players and the respect they do or do not show her.

Towards the end of her interview, she was asked in a joking manner if Real Madrid TV had authored a hit piece on her yet, as was their custom last season.

“Well, I refereed at Castilla and there was controversy. So I can start now,” laughed Huerta de Aza..