Official Kicks: Emma Hingant

Emma Hingant took up refereeing when she realised she could no longer play as often as she wanted and worked out who is guaranteed ninety minutes of football every week. A French translator living in Edinburgh, she now referees across all four Scottish women’s leagues and runs the line in the men’s Lowland League, where she studies how top referees communicate – a part she values particularly because English is not her first language. She is unsparing about the cost: the games she remembers are the ones thick with abuse, and her family and partner stay away because they could not stand it. Her favourite recent match was a cup final broadcast live on BBC Alba, watched by her parents in France.