Yeliz Topaloğlu (born January 1, 1978) is a Turkish FIFA-listed football referee. Outside of refereeing, she is a teacher of physical education. She is FIFA-listed to referee beach soccer, the first woman to be licensed as such.

Early years

Yeliz Topaloğlu was born in 1978. She was raised in Eyüp district of

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, Turkey. In 2000, she entered

Marmara University Marmara University ( Turkish: ''Marmara Üniversitesi'') is a public university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university is named after the Sea of Marmara and was founded as a university in 1982. However, it was created in 1883 under the name of ''H ...

to study physical education and sports. After graduating in 2004, she began to work as a physical education and sports teacher. Topaloğlu played tennis, football, and basketball during her university years. She had to retire from active sports, however, because of an injury. She decided to pursue a career as a

basketball referee In basketball, an official (usually called a referee) enforces the rules and maintains order in the game. The title of official also applies to the scorers and timekeepers, as well as other personnel that have an active task in maintaining the g ...

, and applied for the required course. At the same time, her older sister, who wanted to be a football referee, was rejected due to exceeding the age limit. She named Yeliz instead on the application. Yeliz' career as a football referee began as a surprise.

Football referee

Domestic

Topaloğlu began her referee career in 1999, officially debuting as an assistant referee in a Women's League match played on December 29, 2001. On February 9, 2002, she was appointed referee in the Women's League, which was the forerunner of the Turkish Women's First Football League. She served in various refereeing roles for youth leagues for boys in several different age categories. She officiated men's A2 League, Regional Amateur League,

TFF Third League TFF 3. Lig (Turkish Football Federation Third League) is the fourth level in the Turkish football league system. It was founded in 2001–02 season as a continuation of then third level division Turkish Third Football League.Turkish Third Footba ...

, and

TFF Second League TFF 2. Lig (Turkish Football Federation Second League), is the third level in the Turkish football league system. It was founded in the 2001–02 season with the name of ''Turkish Second League Category B'' as a continuation of the then second lev ...

matches as assistant referee. She is also referee at all three women's leagues.

International

On April 4, 2014, she served as the

fourth official In association football, an assistant referee (previously known as a linesman or lineswoman) is an official empowered with assisting the referee in enforcing the Laws of the Game during a match. Although assistants are not required under the L ...

at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification match between the national teams of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. The

Turkish Football Federation The Turkish Football Federation (; TFF) is the governing body of association football in Turkey. It was formed on 23 April 1923, and joined FIFA the same year and UEFA in 1962. It organizes the Turkey national football team, the Turkish Footba ...

applied to FIFA to list Topaloğlu as a beach soccer referee, a sport that only has men's competitions. FIFA replied that they would agree if Yeliz could pass the required courses. She became the world's first female beach soccer referee after meeting all the FIFA requirements. Her first international appointment as beach soccer referee was at State 1 of the 2014 Euro Beach Soccer League, held in Catania, Italy between June 20 and 22. In 2015, she officiated beach soccer matches at the 2015 European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan from June 24 to 28, the 2015 Euro Beach Soccer League in

Siófok Siófok (; german: Fock; la, Fuk) is a town in Somogy County, Hungary on the southern bank of Lake Balaton. It is the second largest municipality in Somogy County and the seat of Siófok District. It covers an area of about 124.66 km2 (48.1 ...

, Hungary between August 7–9, as well as at the

2015 Mediterranean Beach Games The 2015 Mediterranean Beach Games was the first edition of the Mediterranean Beach Games. It was held from 28 August to 6 September 2015 in Pescara, Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, ...

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...

, Italy between August 28 and September 6,

Other sportive activities

Topaloğlu is a first stage fitness instructor and has a CMAS Two Star Diver certificate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Topaloglu, Yeliz 1978 births People from Eyüp Marmara University alumni Sportspeople from Istanbul Turkish schoolteachers Turkish football referees Turkish women referees and umpires Living people Women association football referees