Breaking barriers for Middle Eastern women in football
Dorsaf Ganoiati is an International Tunisian football referee, and she just made history as the first Arab and African woman to referee a men’s first division match. The 33-year-old’s achievement will help more women from the region to break into the male-dominated field of football.
On Saturday, Dorsaf officiated a match from the Tunisian league – the final match between Espérance Sportive de Tunis and Club Athlétique Bizertin. While the match saw Athlétique win 2-1, Espérance still finished in first place and took home the trophy. But the club weren’t the only winners that day, as that match marked a historic milestone for the 33-year-old and Arab and African women everywhere.
Meet Dorsaf Ganoiati, the first woman to ever referee a second division match in Africa and Asia. https://t.co/iAmS7V7Yci pic.twitter.com/6qcQEgoUpG
— About Her (@AboutHerOFCL) June 3, 2017
This wasn’t Dorsaf’s first referring experience. She has been building up her CV by officiating countless women’s football matches throughout her career. However, Saturday was not the first time that she has stepped onto the pitch of a men’s game. Back in May 2017, she took the lead referee role at a second division match between Stade Tunisien and Union Monastir. In an interview with France24 prior to the match, the 33-year-old said she was initially surprised to learn she had been selected as a referee. Even though she admitted that the experience was a challenge, she said: “I hope some will understand that women can do the job, even better than men sometimes.” Players and fans reportedly confirmed she did a good job, with Espérance player Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhan noting, “Fans were putting a lot of pressure on her, but still she was fantastic.”
Dorsaf started her career as a physical education teacher and football player. She then turned to refereeing in 2012 and earned her spot in the Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s (FIFA) list of international referees in 2015. She has spoken about her experience as a female referee before, saying: “Some of the players are initially shocked to see a woman referee, but they soon forget about it and focus on their match.”
In an interview with BBC in 2018, she spoke out about the pressure of representing women in the male-dominated field. “When I am given a chance I have to prove myself. If I fail they might not give other women the chance, and if I succeed, I will be given other chances and other women will be as well.” Nevertheless, she revealed that she is treated equally among her male colleagues and has even noticed an improvement in the general attitude toward female referees.
Media: Getty, Twitter
