Courtesy-Inquirer Sports
Courtesy-Juniper Sports
Sapir Berman follows in the footsteps of Lucy Clark, a British football referee who came out as transgender in 2018.
Since coming out openly as a woman last week, Israel’s first transgender football referee took the field on Monday for the first time.
As head referee, Sapir Berman blew the whistle to begin the match between Hapoel Haifa and Beitar Jerusalem.
The small audience at Sami Ofer Stadium welcomed her with little fanfare. A Haifa fan kept a sign that read, “Sapir Berman superwoman.”
The players went about their business as usual during pre-game warmups and during the game. Before the game, some people spoke to her and laughed with her.
Omer Weiss, a Beitar Jerusalem fan, told Israel’s Kan public broadcaster that “We have nothing personal against anybody. All should live their lives their own way”.
The game in the northern port city of Haifa was rescheduled for Monday evening after Israel declared Sunday a national day of mourning for the 45 people killed in a stampede at a religious festival last week.
Berman has served as a football referee in Israel’s Premier League for many years and revealed last week that she has officially come out as a woman.
She said that she had received the support of family, fans, football officials and players. Berman follows in the footsteps of British football referee Lucy Clark, who came out as transgender in 2018.