The former Miss Midi-Pyrénées now officiates every weekend on the grounds of the Occitanie region. She returns to her difficulties from the start. Testimony.
Women's sport seeks light
Several Montpellier sports personalities respond to the difficulties suffered in their careers, on the occasion of the International Women's Sports Day, this Friday. Some are semi-professional, others live on sport: referees, players, coaches, leaders, they testify to the lack of interest of their different sports.
Reduced budgets, misogyny or a certain “indifference” can particularly explain the delay accumulated by female sport. A vision that is evolving but it takes time.
Virginie Guillin likes to deconstruct prejudice. She, the former Miss Midi-Pyrénées, has been traveling football fields in Occitania for three years every weekend to arbitrate men and women. “I can have a” very feminine “personality, with a fashion side, with the nails made, always made up. And on the other hand, be quite athletic and sporty”she says with a big smile. She has always had an attraction for sport in her, the latter notably helped her a lot psychologically, after ten years of high intensity model. “When you do so many shoots, you can't know if your body suits you.”
Referenced to the MHSC club, the Hérault referee embarked on the discipline after a discussion with a friend, himself a referee. A choice that she does not regret despite the fact that the beginnings have been able to seem complicated. “When you go from Miss France to, at the beginning, to arbitrate a district, to be insulted every weekend, it's mentally hard.” “Big P*te”, “P*cup”, “C*Nasse”. Puglia that did not come from players but sometimes from coaches, and especially from the public. Several times, it even went further. “I have already been expected at the end of the stadium to ask me for accounts, it was often women.”
“I was told to go back to do the dishes”
Despite this, Virginie never gave up. “The first months in the district, I almost stopped 50 times. I was often told to go back to do the dishes. The first nineteen games, I was coming out in tears but I did not show it to the players.”
The one, who also followed journalism studies, explains at the same time that the hardest part came a few weeks later, during the disciplinary committees where she was to move to testify. “You have to give two hours of your time to tell what happened and undergo pressure from the accused club.”
-A subject that remains an omerta in football and sport in general. “The more you go to the high level, the greater the pressure. There is a lot of money at stake, ego, rivalries, politics.”
The referee recognizes that everything was obviously not perfect during his first meetings as an official. “You have to acquire codes. Despite the fact that I watched many games on TV, that I was going to the stadium, and that I was trying to learn the 17 laws of the game by heart, on the field, it is is not the same “. The 31 -year -old woman had to learn to manage an atmosphere, different characters without the “Bride”.
She prefers to arbitrate men that women
Since then, the old Miss has taken experience and is now evolving in the league. “I directly specified myself to the female championships. When I have no girls' match, they put me on male regional meetings.” Satisfied with its progression, Virginie is just as much when we mention the follow -up of the various instances. “The more you go up in the levels, the more your accompaniment is pushed. They are there at me, if I have a problem. We have technical evenings to improve.“
She now admits preferring to arbitrate men than women. “They groan less, of course, they will complain for two seconds but after that will pass, they get back in the match, they continue. A girl, if you are wrong with a touch or if she does not agree With your decision, she will “eat away” for 90 minutes. “
Also influencer on networks with its Instagram and Tiktok accounts Come on sweet Virginiashe shares her daily referee with her 17,000 followers.
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