First female in history to referee a Croatian football first division match
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
ZAGREB, 8 September 2021 – Ivana Martinčić will become the first woman to be the main referee of a Croatian football first division league match.
Ivana will officiate the 9th round clash between Gorica and Hrvatski Dragovoljac on Friday night in Velika Gorica.
“The Croatian Football Federation (HNS) thus becomes part of the elite because only four other European countries, France, the Czech Republic, Wales and Ukraine, can boast the fact that a female has refereed a match of the highest competition. This is a clear example of the direction in which Croatian football is heading, in the spirit of unity, equality and progress,” HNS said today.
Ivana Martinčić piše povijest hrvatskog nogometa i postat će prva žena u ulozi glavne sutkinje HT Prve lige; evo koje su četiri europske države povukle ovakav potez prije nas | https://t.co/vvCxlwBzxT via @tportal
— sport.tportal.hr (@TportalSport) September 8, 2021
Ivana first got into refereeing at the age of 22 and obtained her FIFA badge when she was 28.
Ivana has been an international referee since 2014. In 2018, she refereed the finals of the European Under-19 Football Championship, and in 2015 the final of the European Under-17 Championship. In June last year, she was the fourth referee in the first division match between Hajduk and Varaždin.
Since 2019, Martinčić has been an international elite group referee and is a candidate to ref at the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
