Israeli soccer referee Sapir Berman last week became the first transgender official in history to preside over both a European and an international match.
Berman, 30, last week officiated the Women’s Under-17 Euro 2025 qualifier between Northern Ireland and Montenegro in Belfast. Montenegro narrowly beat the Northern Ireland team 2-1.
The veteran soccer official called her achievement “an overwhelming feeling, immense pride, and indescribable excitement.”
“I step into this moment with deep humility and excitement, hoping to do my very best, to represent my country, to stand for my sisters in the LGBTQ+ community, and to show that every dream is possible,” Berman added.
Berman has been officiating in the Israeli Premier League (“Ligat ha’Al”), Israel’s top soccer league, since 2011 as Sagi Berman, coming out as a transgender woman in 2021.
The Israel Referees Association always maintained Berman would only be evaluated on merit. For a brief period, she was demoted from the Premier League to the second-tier National League (“Liga Leumit”), having failed mandatory fitness tests due to hormones she was taking for the gender transition.
“I do not know if I am a pioneer or the first [referee] to do that — I am going through this process for me,” Berman told the media at the time.
English referee Lucy Clark became the first transgender referee to officiate a soccer match after coming out as transgender in 2018. However, she never officiated an international match.
