The first woman to referee professional men’s matches in Spain, Marta Huerta de Aza sent a message to Real Madrid, whose channel had criticized her.
Marta Huerta de Aza is making history in Spanish football. At 34, she becomes the first woman to become a professional referee and will referee Liga Hypermotion (the second division of the Iberian championship) matches next season, which is a step further in equality between men and women in football. After a controversy over one of her matches with the Real Madrid reserve team, Huerta de Aza spoke out about the media pressure and the increasing criticism of referees, particularly after videos broadcast by Real Madrid TV in recent months. She decides to welcome these images with a smile: “I have already refereed Castilla and there was controversy. I can start, I did the pre-season, she quipped, while the capital club is accused of making video montages on referees’ errors which do not go their way.
Huerta de Aza does not distinguish between men and women
As part of an interview carried out for El Partidazo de COPE, the young referee also spoke about a possible difficulty in being at the center of debates when you are a woman and about the difference between refereeing a men’s and women’s match. She believes there is no real difference: “For me, what was different was refereeing women. It makes me feel like one more woman. Nobody has ever distinguished me from the others by calling me Marta or Pedro. At the end of the day, football is football. It is difficult to referee some players just as it is difficult to referee some women players. I don’t think it is a gender issue.” Liga Hypermotion teams are warned, Marta Huerta de Aza will not be intimidated in this pool full of sharks.
