Official Kicks: Gemma Gardiner

Gemma Gardiner from Clacton, a Level 7 referee awaiting a promotion decision, took her course at sixteen at her father’s suggestion. She was the only girl on it and was determined to score highly and prove certain people wrong, including a course instructor who did not think girls should be referees. A goalkeeper from the age of seven until sixteen, she has since rejoined a ladies team, and now referees in the men’s Essex and Suffolk Border League and the Thurlow Nunn Youth League. The best part, she says, is changing opinions and tearing down stereotypes about female referees: whispers when she first refereed men stopped once local teams knew her. Her ultimate ambition is to see how far she can get on the men’s pathway.