Melis Özçiğdem (born October 26, 1982), aka Meliz Özçiğdem, is a Turkish FIFA listed football referee and former international women's footballer. She is a teacher of physical education at a secondary school in

Konak, İzmir Konak is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 24 km2, and its population is 332,277 (2022). It is the most densely populated of the thirty districts of İzmir, and has historically acted as t ...

Sports career

Player

Club

Melis Özçiğdem began her sports career after obtaining her license for İzmir Öztürkspor in her hometown on November 8, 1999. She joined

Ankara University Ankara University () is a public university, public research university in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the History of the Republic of Turkey, formation of the Turkish republ ...

's football team on March 2, 2001, when she enrolled at the university in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

. On December 24 that year, she moved to

Gazi Üniversitesispor Gazi Üniversitesispor is a women's association football, women's football club from Ankara, Turkey. It is the team of the Gazi University and played in Turkey's top level league, the Turkish Women's Football Premier League. History The club was ...

, where she played until the end of the 2001–02 season in the First League capping 8 times and scoring 10 goals. As the women's football league in Turkey was suspended between 2003 and 2006, she took a break. Finally, she transferred to

Bucaspor Bucaspor was a professional Turkish Association football, football club based in Buca, İzmir. Formed in 1928, Bucaspor were nicknamed Fırtına (Storm). The club colours were yellow and navy. It was dissolved in 2020. History Bucaspor was the ...

for the 2006–07 season.

International

Özçiğdem was admitted to the Turkey U-19 team and debuted in the 2000 UEFA Women's Under-18 Championship Second qualifying round match against Ireland on October 19, 1999. She took part at the 2001 UEFA Women's Under-18 Championship First qualifying and Second qualifying round matches. She appeared in 11 matches of the Turkey women's U-19 team. On May 20, 2001, she played for the first time in the Turkey women's team at the friendly match against

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Özçiğdem was part of the national team at the 2003 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) – Group 8 and UEFA Euro 2009 qualifying – Group A1 matches. She capped 8 times in total for the Turkey women's nationals. She was part of the Turkey yeam at the

2005 Summer Universiade The 2005 Summer Universiade, also known as the XXIII Summer Universiade, took place in İzmir, Turkey, in August. Emblem The emblem is the letter "U", inspired by the bird's-eye view of the Gulf of İzmir. This shape has perfectly fit the letter ...

held in İzmir.

Referee

Domestic

Özçiğdem began her referee career 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 Turkish youth league, (, on October 20, 2007. She was tasked in this capacity at the Women's First League on November 30, 2008. She made her debut as a referee in the Women's Second League on December 28, 2008. She served in various competitions of the 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 ...

league, called A2 Ligi from November 15, 2010, on. She was promoted to officiate in the Women's First League on December 5, 2010. She appeared for the first time as referee in 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 September 20, 2014, and as

fourth official In association football, an assistant referee (also known as a linesman) is an official who assists the referee in administering the Laws of the Game during a match. Although assistants are not required under the Laws, at most organised levels ...

in the

TFF Second League The TFF 2. Lig (), currently referred to as Nesine 2. Lig for sponsorship reasons, 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 continu ...

on December 14 the same year.

International

;2013 Özçiğdem officiated two of the 2014 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualification – Group 4 matches in October 2013. ;2014 She officiated two of the 2014 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship qualification – Group 6 matches in April 2014, two games of the 2014–15 UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying round – Group 6 on August 9–11, 2014 and two of the 2015 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualification – Group 1 matches in October 2014. ;2015 She served as referee in two matches of the 2016 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship qualification – Group 10 in September 2015. ;2016 In 2016, Özçiğdem officiated the match

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

against

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

at the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying Group 7 in

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

, Belgium on 12 April. She was assigned to officiate the 2017 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship qualification matches

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

against

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

in Plewiska, Poland on 15 September, and between

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Wronki Wronki () is a town in the Szamotuły County, western-central Poland, situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is located close to the Warta River to the northwest of Poznań on the edge of Noteć Forest, and has a population of approximat ...

, Poland on 20 September. She served as referee at the 2017 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualification Group 10 matches between

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

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 ...

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

, Ireland pn 28 October and

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

against

in Cork, Ireland on 31 October. ;2017 Özçiğdem officiated the 2017 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualification matches

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

against

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Zaltbommel Zaltbommel (), also known, historically and colloquially, as Bommel, is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. History The city of Zaltbommel The town of Zaltbommel was first mentioned as "Bomela" in the year 850. Zaltbommel received ...

, Netherlands on 27 March and between

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in Zaltbommel, Netherlands on 29 March 2017. She served as referee at the 2017 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship Group B matches between

and

on 5 May, and between

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

, Czech Republic on 8 May 2017. ;2018 She officiated the 2018 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship Group B match

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Biel/Bienne Biel/Bienne (official bilingual wording; German language, German: ''Biel'' ; French language, French: ''Bienne'' ; Bernese German, locally ; ; ; ) is a bilingual city in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. With over 55,000 residents, it is the ...

, Switzerland on 18 July 2018. At the 2017–18 UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying round, she was the referee in the matches

Stjarnan Ungmennafélagið Stjarnan (, ), commonly known as Stjarnan (), is an Icelandic multi-sports club specialising in handball, football, basketball, volleyball and gymnastics located in Garðabær. Basketball Men's basketball As of the 2017–2 ...

against ŽFK Istatov in

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

, Croatia on 25 August, and between ŽFK Istatov and

Klaksvíkar Ítróttarfelag Klaksvíkar Ítróttarfelag ("Klaksvík Sports Club"), commonly abbreviated to KÍ and also known as KÍ Klaksvík, is a Faroe Islands, Faroese professional association football, football club based in Klaksvík. The club was founded in 1904 a ...

Vinkovci Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city settlement's population was 28,111 in the 2021 census, while the total population was 30,842, making it the largest town of the county. It is a local tr ...

, Croatia pn 28 August 2018. In 2018, she served as referee further in the Round of 32 match at the 2018–19 UEFA Women's Champions League knockout phase between AFC Ajax Vrouwen and AC Sparta Praha in Duivendrecht, Netherlands on 12 September. ;2019 She officiated the Round of 32 match at the 2019–20 UEFA Women's Champions League between

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg (), is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of Wolfsburg. I ...

and KFF Mitrovica in

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian language, Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth-largest city in the Germany, German state of Lower Saxony, on the river Aller (Germany), Aller east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the locat ...

, Germany on 25 September 2019, and the UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying competition

Group F Group F may refer to: * A set of international motor racing regulations used in touring car racing Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race-prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant dif ...

match between

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Miskolc Miskolc ( , ; ; Czech language, Czech and ; ; ; ) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 as of 1 January 2014, Miskolc is the List of cities and towns in Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, ...

, Hungary on 4 October, as well as the

Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for Touring car racing, touring cars and ''Group B'' for Grand tourer, GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 (motorspor ...

match between

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

, Norway on 8 November 2019, Özçelik was the referee of the friendly match between

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 ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Menemen Menemen () is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 573 km2, and its population is 200,904 (2022). The district extends on a fertile plain formed by the alluvial soil carried by the Gediz River. Adjacent distric ...

, Turkey on 11 November 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ozcigdem, Melis 1982 births Living people Footballers from İzmir Turkish women's footballers 21st-century Turkish sportswomen Women's association football midfielders Turkey women's international footballers Turkish football referees Turkish sportswomen Turkish schoolteachers Gazi Üniversitesispor players Bucaspor women's players Women association football referees

Sports career

Player

Club

International

Referee

Domestic

International

See also

References

External links