Although some players may not approve of my nagging, the overwhelming majority of people at my club are supportive

When you think of a football referee, the words “old white male” probably come to mind – or at least they did for me. Quite frankly, it doesn’t seem like a pleasant job at first glance; you are always the first to be blamed and the last to be praised. However, my experience as a young, black and minority ethnic female referee has been largely positive, and refereeing could be the perfect counter to the phenomenon of young women dropping out of sport.

I always dreamed of a career in football growing up but, as I got older, injuries and, perhaps more accurately, a sheer lack of talent meant that a professional playing career did not materialise. When I was 16, the age that many girls lose interest in playing sports, a few of my teammates were doing the Football Association’s referee course to officiate as a weekend job. For me, the prospect of earning money in a football-related job was far more appealing than working in retail or waitressing, so I soon followed suit.