The Israeli football league can count on the transgender first referee.
To announce the fact was the same protagonist who in a press conference said that from now on she will take the female name of Sapir Berman instead of the male name of Sagi.
She herself told reporters that she identifies as a woman.
"I have always seen myself - she stressed - as a woman since I was very young. At first I didn't know how to define it, what to call it but there was always an attraction for the female side and there was envy of the others. women".
Berman, 26, then recalled "having been a successful man: both in the referees' association and at school and also with girls. I was a man but when I was alone I was a woman .. and so I continued to live. for 26 years ". Then the final decision: "I chose to come out, to show the world how I was. First for myself, for my well-being but also for my loved ones so that they would not see me suffering".
Berman is known for being one of the top referees in the Israeli league, although in the past months - local media recalled - she has not been designated often because she was undergoing hormone treatments. The Israeli Football Association and the country's referees association have expressed their full support for Berman and now the federation is consulting with both UEFA and FIFA to find out how to properly accommodate transgender referees.