Mariia Zobenko was an up-and-coming Ukrainian referee when the outbreak of war turned her life upside down.
After seeking refuge in Scotland, a return to the football pitch provided some sense of normality for a teenager who had endured the kind of trauma no-one should have to experience.
By chance, the Dnipro native found herself living in the shadow of Oriam - Scotland's Sports Performance Centre - where some of the country's top officials are put through their paces on a weekly basis.
Determined to pick up where she left off, Mariia is now working her way through Scottish football's refereeing ranks.
An inspirational character and a proud ambassador for Ukraine, this is her story.
My world changed forever in February.
It’s not even been nine months, but it feels like a lifetime ago. I’m 19 years old, but sometimes I feel a lot older. We have all had to grow up very quickly.
I am proud to come from Dnipro. It is one of the industrial heartlands of Ukraine and sits on the Dnieper River in the centre of the country. There was a lot of confusion when war broke out, but we knew that such an important place would be targeted quickly.
Beyond that, there was so much uncertainty and panic. It started with little things that impacted your day-to-day life, like my local referees’ association telling me that our competitions were to be postponed.
Before you know it, you’re huddling together with your community in underground bomb shelters. It did bring people together, and I was part of a group that helped provide clothes and food for those who were in need.
We’d go to bed with bombs and rockets, hoping to wake up and find that it was all a bad dream.
But it wasn’t.
Social media meant you couldn’t escape from everything that was going on around you. We tried to distract ourselves as best we could. What else could we do?
In some ways football was the furthest thing from my thoughts, but in other ways it kept me going.
I just didn’t think it would lead me to Scotland.
A relocation programme to help Ukrainians impacted by the war helped me more quickly than expected and it’s probably the biggest decision I’ve ever had to make.
I lived with my parents in Dnipro. I was happy and it was home, but we talked it through. Their opinion was that it wasn’t safe and, with everyday life disrupted so much, I couldn’t continue my studies to be a lawyer properly or continue to progress within football as a young referee.
I packed my life into a bag, and it was ‘go, go, go’. We agreed that I had to give it a try.
I’m not sure about fate, but I found myself in the student accommodation at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. I didn’t know then that next door – at Oriam – was where some of Scotland’s referees train together every week.
Those first few days were horrible. Not having my family. Conscious of being in another country on my own. Worried about not being able to speak the language well enough or know where to go or what to do.
It had also been five long months since I’d last been on a football pitch. I missed it.
I had no expectations, but I found an email address for the Scottish Football Association, and I was so happy when I got a reply from Tommy Murphy – their Deputy Head of Refereeing.
Tommy explained who I should speak to at a local level in Edinburgh and what options were available to me and the rest is history.
That first night at training was like the first day of school. I was nervous, but felt better instantly when I realised I wasn’t the only girl there. Small things like that can make a difference.
Those same girls came to cheer me on when I got my first appointment to a match. That was another emotional moment. It might have been a small thing for them, but it meant a lot to me.
Refereeing and football has given me a sense of normality again, even in a far-off country.
I speak to my family every day and, of course, I follow what is happening in Ukraine, but I try to focus on the things I can control.
I don’t feel like I am on my own anymore. The support I have had – from the local association, the Scottish Football Association, the other referees, and people I have met along the way – has been amazing. It has been a hard year, but I consider myself to be a lucky person.
At least here, my biggest concern is how to improve my performance in matches. How to take feedback on board, improve my communication and keep progressing. I’ve had games at different levels, and it was special to get to be an assistant in the SWPL for Hibernian against Motherwell.
I have a long way to go but I feel myself getting more and more confident.
One day I would like to be a professional referee. My dream is to run out in a World Cup.
It might never happen, but I’ll do everything I can to get there. Whatever happens, I am proud of how far I have come. I’m stronger than I thought I was.
Scotland has given me a home away from home. Football has given me the best kind of distraction and renewed purpose.
I hope someone will read this and be encouraged to chase their own dreams."
Mariia Zobenko
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