Israeli referee Sapir Berman beamed as she recalled the moment her "dream came true" earlier this year, when she became the first transgender woman to officiate an international football match.

"I always wanted to be a woman, and I always wanted to be a football referee -- and then those two came together and fused into one dream that just exploded with joy," the 31-year-old told AFP.

"It's an uplifting, powerful feeling -- the feeling that I'm doing the right thing, that I'm choosing myself, that I'm showing the world it's possible.

"Since I was five, I remember wanting to be a woman, wanting to be a girl. And when I started playing football, I realised that the dream of being a woman and playing football didn't go together," she said.

"So I decided to hide who I was and just keep playing football. I hid myself for almost 26 years."

Berman grew up in a football-loving family, playing as a defender for around 10 years from around the age of five.

When she realised her professional........

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