Euro 2022: Ukrainian referee Maryna Striletska hoping to forget about war
Maryna Striletska has been officiating in Switzerland's men's third tier to prepare for this summer's Euros
But that World Cup qualifier between Gareth Southgate's side and minnows Andorra at the Estadi Nacional felt like a world away as army vehicles rolled through her village, 19 miles from the Russian border. Since then, the 38-year-old has taken up her flag again as an assistant referee in the Swiss men's third division. Next month, she will arrive in England to officiate at the Women's Euros.
"In that time, we had maybe 10 girls in Ukraine refereeing, so each federation decided to find one girl," she says. "They asked me and at the time I was not so happy, but I tried." Maryna Striletska was part of the first all-female referee team to oversee an England men's international But the constant fear of bombing from low-flying planes as they roared over her house and concerns for 11-year-old Eva's safety had begun to take its toll.
"It took me four days. After we got to the border we were queuing for 17 hours, but then after that it was easy - I felt we were safe." "For three weeks I cried every day," she says. "I was forgetting I was in the world of football because I was thinking about the war. That's why I had to start refereeing."
"Switzerland are doing a lot for Ukrainian people, all museums, trains, buses are free for us," she says. "I really can't thank this country enough, they've even organised a free language course for us."
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