On 10 May last, Maria Marotta became the first woman to referee a Serie B match, Reggina vs Frosinone. A historic date for Italian football and for the many women who want to forge a path in professional fields still reserved almost exclusively for men. We spoke with her just hours before the Partita del cuore, which she refereed, and whose eve had been marred by an episode of sexism: the removal of Aurora Leone of The Jackal from the event, precisely because she is a woman.

You have been refereeing matches for 20 years and have been an international referee since 2016, in football — a historically male world. Has that ever caused you problems?
Being able to referee football matches is a passion that has been with me since 2002. And I have to say that, once the initial surprise passed, it was always followed by a good degree of acceptance from a world with a strongly male majority. To establish myself, I focused on two aspects in particular: rigorous training and dialogue with the players. I always arrived at matches well prepared, and the players treated me with respect. I never heard phrases like: "This isn't your place."

You have refereed a great many matches on the "heated" pitches of the lower divisions. Is there any particular moment you remember with special fondness?
I remember with great pleasure the matches I refereed in the lower divisions of my region: that is where I built the foundations of the strength and confidence that stay with me today. From that point of view, football in Campania is a great training ground, both for the technical level you see on the pitch and for the warmth of the crowd in the stands. On that note, I still have one episode in mind from a derby I refereed in San Giorgio a Cremano; I decided to send off a player from the home side, and a fan in the stands, rather than protesting, shouted at me in dialect: "Referee, now you're a real man!"

On the subject, in recent years terms such as "ministra" or "sindaca" have come into common use. Has the time come to also normalise the word "arbitra"?
I am convinced that the gender question is not exhausted by putting the letter "a" at the end of certain words. At the root there are far more important choices that must remove every form of discrimination and guarantee equal opportunities for everyone — for women as for people with disabilities. For now, it is enough for me to be called referee Marotta.

In a recent interview with LifeGate, social-linguist Vera Gheno argued that an equal society can also be achieved through words. Do you agree?
Words matter. In fact, they are like weapons, so you need to know how to use them. But in my view the priority in this field is to work on rights and opportunities. Arbitro or arbitra makes little difference — what we need to ensure is greater opportunities for growth and exchange, without thinking in terms of "gender quotas".

"Gender quotas" don't convince you?
For me they are a humiliation. I have never felt like a "quota" in any context.

In Italy the issue of gender equality in the workplace — both in terms of pay and career opportunities — is widely debated. Do you think your example could in some way represent a turning point?
I sincerely hope so. I hope that last 10 May opened up a possibility for all the women who want to fulfil their dreams, in sport as in any other profession. I do want to stress, however, that merit must always be at the foundation of everything; it is right to create equal opportunities for women, but without meritocracy there is a risk of the opposite effect: we would be accused of being favoured precisely because we are not men.

Today a female referee in Serie B makes news. Will the real turning point come when it no longer does?
This is a favourable moment and, thanks in part to the support of the new president of the Associazione italiana arbitri, Alfredo Trentalange, a new path has begun — one that led to the match I refereed in Serie B, but not only that. On the national committee there is another woman, Katia Senesi, with whom we work in close contact. They are giving us the tools and entrusting us with ever-greater responsibilities: now it is up to us to grow, through work, both technically and athletically.

Besides yourself, Maria Marotta, are there other female colleagues ready to make the leap to Serie B, or perhaps Serie A?
I think it is right not to set limits on ourselves. I work every day to defend my dream through training and technical development. If the opportunity arises — for me or for one of my colleagues — we will certainly be ready!