Tuesday, May 4th 2021
Trans referee debut
Football fans celebrate their “Super Woman”
Sapir Berman has been whistling in the Israeli soccer league since 2011. But now she appears for the first time as a trans woman. She is accompanied by cheering fans, the moral support of the association and footballers who pay her respect. Berman is proud of her very special premiere.
Sapir Berman was hailed as a heroine by the fans in the stadium. On a poster she posed in a Superman costume, underneath it said: “Super Woman”. The 26-year-old became the first transgender referee to lead a game in Israeli professional football on Monday, making her historic debut.
When Berman stepped onto the field of the Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa together with the professionals from Hapoel Haifa and Beitar Jerusalem (3: 1), she was greeted with applause by the spectators. Then she joked with the two captains about her light blue nail polish while tossing a coin.
“Sapir, we are all with you,” read a sign. The Israel Football Association (FA) also expressed its support. “This is the first step in a long and wonderful journey. Sapir, we are proud to make it with you,” wrote the association on Twitter.
“Show who I really am”
Last Tuesday, Berman announced that she had felt like a woman since childhood and changed her name from Sagi to Sapir. As a man she was “very successful”, she said, be it “in the referee association, during studies or with women”. But now she has decided to “show who I really am”.
Berman especially thanked the players who already addressed them with the correct pronoun. “It shows me that there is a change in society,” she said. The association also provided her with a separate changing room.
Berman has been in action in the Israeli Premier League since 2011. She does not know whether she is a pioneer, but that is also irrelevant. “I’m going through this process for myself,” she emphasized. Berman follows in the footsteps of Brit Lucy Clark, who became the first transgender referee in the world to step out into the open in 2018.
After her coming out, Berman also received threats on social media, as she said, but above all support from colleagues, friends and family. Ronit Tirosh, head of the Israel Referees Union, called Berman “brave” and said she had “started a historic process for Israeli football”.
Israel is considered a progressive country in terms of LGBTQI equality. Same-sex marriages concluded abroad are recognized, although homosexuality is frowned upon in religious Jewish circles. In any case, “Super Woman” Berman will continue to lead football games in Israel’s top league unimpressed.
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