Dilek Koçbay (born Dilek Özdemir on December 30, 1982), is a TurkishFIFA listedfootball referee. She is a teacher of physical education by profession.
Personal life
She was born in
Balıkesir
Balıkesir () is a city in the Marmara Region, Marmara region of Turkey. It is the seat of Balıkesir Province, which is also a Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality. As of 2022, the population of Balıkesir Province ...
on December 30, 1982. Her father Mehmet Özdemir was a football referee, who inspired her for her later career as referee. She studied physical education and sports in Balıkesir University, becoming a teacher after graduation. She is married to Zafer Koçbay, a former football referee. They live in
Çanakkale
Çanakkale is a city and seaport in Turkey on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. It is the seat of Çanakkale Province and Çanakkale District.
During her school years, she played volleyball. At the age of 17, she assisted with her sister their father in a football match as referee. And one year later, she assisted her later husband in a match.
Sports career
Referee
Koçbay began her referee career officially as an
assistant referee
A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...
in a match of the
TFF Third League
The TFF 3. Lig (), currently referred to as Nesine 3. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth level in the Turkish football league system. It was founded in the 2001–02 season as a continuation of then third level division Turkish Third Foot ...
on October 20, 2007.
She made her debut as a referee in the PAF League, the predecessor of A2 League, on February 17, 2007. She officiated a youth super league, (, DSGL), match for the first time on March 8, 2008. She was promoted to officiate Turkish men's
reserve team
In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification UEFA Group 6 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. The group comprised Belarus, England, Montenegro, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales.
The group winners qualified directly for the ...
match of
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
vs
Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...