It is a familiar backstory for referees: a moment arrives when the realisation sets in that a playing career is not progressing as hoped so the black kit and a whistle offer an alternative to stay on the pitch.
Jawahir Roble became cognisant of her limitations as a player in her late teens but loved football so much that she decided to do what no other person like her has dared to before.
Nine years and more than 1,300 games later, JJ, as she prefers to be known, remains the only female Muslim match official registered by the FA and is on the fast track to the professional ranks, one step off promotion to the Women's Super League.
When players see a diminutive young woman, barely taller than 5ft, in a hijab waiting in the centre circle for the first time there is still skepticism, curiosity and double-takes but to be fazed by those reactions, to consider herself othered would miss the entire point of this pursuit.
“I know I’m black, I know I’m Muslim and it would be easy for me to make myself a victim and think people will be racist or Islamophobic,” she tells football.london. “I can easily use that as an excuse but I can’t because I love football so much. I’m a woman? Don’t care. I’m a Muslim? Don’t care. I just go to referee.
“A guy going into a room full of women can think like that too. It’s a thinking process. There’s a reason I’m here, people need me. I’m always going to do my best. It’s about how you see yourself and I see myself as a referee.
“All the other stuff is not needed. It took me a while to get to that mindset. At the beginning I thought that they wouldn’t take me seriously but, actually, they don’t care who the referee is once they do a good job. I just do me.”
Over an hour-long Zoom chat, what strikes most about JJ is her joy for the game and the “beauty of refereeing”, which may sound a bit peaches and cream until you hear her perspective of the most harshly viewed role in the sport.
“Before games I’m in my changing room, speaker on and vibing to whatever tune is on. Then it comes to the game, I walk out with the players, look at the pitch and that still makes me excited,” she says.
“You can’t make both teams happy but the team that’s happy makes me happy. A team that’s sad, ‘I’m sorry maybe next time.’ Seeing players give it the big man celebration after scoring makes me happy. [She roars as if celebrating a goal] It makes me so excited, it makes me smile and then for the losing team it’s about telling them their time will come. It always needs to be a happy game.”
JJ grew up in north west London after her parents emigrated from Somalia when she was a toddler and, as a result of cultural differences, they were initially reluctant in allowing her to play football.
Opportunities to play sport are denied to young girls at home and they would have preferred if she focused on education rather than physical activity. But a stubbornness took hold and they were eventually convinced that her passion was a source for good.
“Parents are meant to be there to guide you and they did say stuff but I’d already made my mind up,” she says. “I told them I want to do this and make my own decisions because at the end of the day I’m happy.
“Coming to a country like this you can be anything you want if you put your mind to it. They were confused about why I had chosen this path. They thought I’d grow out of it and pick something after school that would benefit me in the long-run. But…”
She pauses and then laughs. “I haven't, have I? I've stuck to it.”
Naturally, JJ wants to pave the way for the next generation of young Muslim girls who may think football is not meant for them. But what is it like to be framed as a trailblazer and to be called the most remarkable referee in the country?
“Well it means I can’t stop,” she says. “I need to get more girls involved in the game. I need to make refereeing as beautiful as possible. I’m going to be honest: there is a dark side to refereeing but there’s a lot of fulfilment. My dream is to get as many girls involved but even guys… after games they ask me about how to get involved, which I like.”
Changing the wider impression of women in football among the Somalian and Muslim communities will not happen overnight but she is willing to be front and centre when it comes to gradually altering mindset issues.
“Knowing the Somalian community and the Muslim community, I’d say a lot of girls suffer from having parents with the same views, who don’t understand the importance of fitness and a healthy lifestyle,” she adds.
“It helps mentally, socially. Knowing your girl has been running for 90 minutes – is that not better than her sitting at home reading all day? That fitness will help the rest of her life if you let her be a part of this beautiful game. I’d be more than happy to educate my own community but also girls in general.”
There has been abuse, the majority common insults aimed at referees, and one instance of alleged racism a number of years back that was reported to the local FA, who did not take any action.
Yet she has never felt intimidated to the extent that she has wanted to walk off or pack it all in. Quite the opposite.
Often there are moments when she laughs at players, male and female, who do not understand the laws of the game. She watches Premier League managers lose the plot over handball and offside decisions on TV and rolls her eyes, wondering why there are not mandatory weekly rules workshops at the professional level.
But the approach when she is on the pitch is simple. “Normally what I do is if the captain asks me, I’ll explain. If they are angry, I tell them to calm down before talking to me. It’s a great idea for players to be more educated. You can’t play and not know the rules.
“That’s the only way the game will flow and controversy becomes less is if players are up to date with the game. All the players do is play and train but why not have a workshop a week to learn the rules? That will help them to appreciate referees more.”
In her mid-20s, there is plenty of time to continue developing but she is only one step off her long-term goal of taking charge in the Women’s Super League. Referees are judged on a number of criteria with yearly promotions or demotions with assessors looking at a number of criteria.
“You do the laws of the game test, then a fitness test with two game assessments a year. It’s a long process and I wish players learnt more about that side because they would appreciate the work it takes. I train six times a week, I eat right - just like the players.”
