Clara Walker may only be four, but already she knows she wants to be a football referee.
Watching Garforth Town’s 1-1 draw with Hall Road Rangers in the NCEL Premier Division with her father Nathan and nine-month-old brother Rufus, Clara was inspired by seeing Melissa Burgin run the line at the Supply Chain Network Community Stadium.
Nathan, from West Yorkshire, tweeted a photo of his daughter looking at a laughing Melissa and saying ‘Her hair is like mine, can I be a referee?’
Daughter was delighted to see this assistant referee today "her hair is like mine, can I be a referee? " – pic taken during one of the many injury breaks @TheGarforthTown @WomeninFootball @NCEL . pic.twitter.com/e87UvbxTEL
— Hullablue (@hullablue) October 14, 2017
Within 24 hours, the tweet which was shared with @WomeninFootball, had been liked over 4,000 times.
Nathan said after the game his daughter loves going to watch football live and she likes to watch the officials.
Nathan said: “She normally says the referees are her favourites as black is her favourite colour.
Thank you for sharing … representation is truly important!
— Ahmed_1980 (@Nafarat100100) October 15, 2017
“She had a great day, she loves going to the football, mainly because she gets chips, but she had to make do with a sausage sandwich as Garforth don’t do chips.”
Seeing the female official sharing the moment with Clara touched many people on Twitter.
This has warmed my heart. Thank you so much for sharing. ?? @WomeninFootball
— awo86 (@awo86) October 14, 2017
Ahmed_1980 wrote: ‘Thanks for sharing… representation is truly important!’ while AWO86 said ‘This has warmed my heart. Thank you so much for sharing. ??’
Nathan said Clara will be back next week, weather permitting.
Source: By PA Sport Staff
