"Girl power!": female referee includes plaudits in match report
Spanish ref María Gómez was applauded from the field after a youth game in Catalunya between Castelldefels and Ciudad Cooperativa and told "You're a star!"
At the end of a youth game between male sides Castelldefels and Ciudad Cooperativa on 31 March 15-year-old Spanish referee María Goméz Gómez decided to include something in her match report that's regrettably far too rare: the applause and congratulations she received at the final whistle.
Her match report read: At the end of the match when I was walking towards the dressing rooms the fans of both teams stood up and started to applaud, saying: "Well done referee, girl power, you've shown what you're made of*. When leaving [the ground] they applauded and told me, "You're a star!" I think that just as we include the bad things we should include the good"
Referee happy about reaction
María Gómez spoke to Spanish TV and explained her match report: "I'm a referee and a footballer. Normally we write the bad stuff, but this really thrilled me and I decided to include it in the match report".
[*the phrase shouted was "Que ovarios tienes" which literally means "What ovaries you've got", a play on the standard Spanish phrase "Que huevos tienes" or "What balls you've got" meaning you're made of strong stuff].