Buhra Yurdakul poses with referee Mehmet Aydin and the other assistant referee of the weekend's game, Hatice Usanmaz. (Photo: DHA)
(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, NOVEMBER 11 - Turkish new assistant referee Buhra Yurdakul, 21, has become the first referee in Turkey to officiate a soccer game wearing a headscarf, as the private Dogan news agency reported. Yurdakul got her referee's license after completing a course in 2013 offered as part of the Turkish Football Federation's (TFF) Football Refereeing for Everyone (HIF) program. She was one of two assistant referees at a U-15 League game at the weekend between Demirspor and Sandiklispor in the western province of Afyonkarahisar, Dogan said. A third-year finance student at Afyon Kocatepe University, Yurdakul said refereeing was a dream for her and that she was happy that this dream had finally come true. "People who have dreams should not give up on them. Mine have come true," she told Dogan. Yurdakul wore a black headscarf to match her referee jersey and black leggings underneath her shorts. The other assistant referee in the game was also a woman. TFF's HIF program offers referees who perform well the chance to become provincial referees in two years. Yurdakul successfully officiated the game as an assistant referee, according to Dogan.
The game ended with a 2-1 victory for Demirspor. (ANSAmed).
