Football’s first transgender referee talks about how the sport saved her life

Football’s first-ever transgender referee has exposed how the sport saved her life and expressed her fear that she would not be accepted after her transition.

Lucy Clark, 51, works in the Women’s National League and at the men’s grassroots level and has become a flag bearer for the trans community in football after boldly deciding in 2018 to make her transition public.

After initially choosing to turn her back on the game for fear of not being accepted or recognized after coming out, she was hospitalized with a heart attack. The health scare convinced her to embrace her identity and continue refereeing.

Feeling trapped in her own body at a young age, Clark used soccer as a much-needed escape and has even admitted that the sport prevented a suicide attempt.

Talking to the Guinness World Recordsshe said, “If I hadn’t had football, I wonder if I’d really be here.”

Lucy Clark, 51, has served on several levels after making her transition public in 2018

Clark (right) is pictured accepting her Guinness World Record award with her wife Avril (left)

“When I was young I knew what was going on in my head and there were a lot of things young boys did that I didn’t want to do. I didn’t want to play soldiers, but I could play football.

“I tried to commit suicide when I was younger. I used to stand on top of Balaam House (a tall building in Sutton), willing myself to jump.

“I would go to the side facing Sutton United. I would have that focus and see that ground, so I probably came down with an elevator instead of other shapes.’

Clark’s remarkable journey has centered around soccer and she’s described the many ways the game has benefited her.

“Referee, you just forget everything,” she added. “Football is great for your mental health and your physical health.”

Her concern about how football may have refused to accept her weighed heavily, almost convincing her to hang up her whistle at the end of 2018.

“2017/18 would be my last season as a referee because I have been a referee for many years,” she admitted. “I was in a transition process and at that moment I didn’t think the football world would accept me.”

According to a 2018 study, eight in ten trans youth have self-harmed and nearly half have attempted suicide due to bullying or abandonment.

A health scare convinced Clark to fully embrace her identity and continue refereeing

Clark has received the full support of the Football Association to referee as a woman

But Clark believes football can be a safe haven for people who need one.

She said The mirror: ‘There has to be a place for transgender people in sport, it has to be fair, but there has to be a place for us. Especially in football.

“Football is for everyone. It is the greatest sport in the world. Everyone loves football. And for me, football saved my life. If I didn’t have football I wouldn’t be here today.

“Football allowed me to forget what was going on in my head when I was in my teens and when I was down.”

Lucy got the full backfrom the football association to referee as a woman.

In 2018, the governing body said: ‘The FA fully supports Lucy and anyone wanting to participate in football in their preferred gender.

“Football is for everyone and in 2014 the FA announced a policy, as well as an information guide distributed to all clubs, to encourage transgender people to take part in football.”