Meet Fernanda Colombo, the Latin-American model who turned football referee

Apart from technological advances like VAR for close calls, the 2018 FIFA World Cup is setting another trend — the incorporation of women in leading roles, which historically have been exclusive to men until now.

Meet Fernanda Colombo, the Latin American model – turned football referee- who challenged the male monopoly in the game.

Born in Southern Brazil, she catapulted to fame during the 2014 World Cup, where she was an assisting referee, and turned heads while making a step up to the Copa do Brasil.

Que futebol, que nada. O Brasil precisa mesmo é de educação, segurança, menos impostos, um ataque mais forte, um meio campo menos bagunçado, uma zaga mais confiável... #vemcopa

A post shared by Fernanda Colombo (@fernandacolomboreal) on Jun 13, 2018 at 6:56pm PDT

While the world fawns over her beauty, Colombo, in an interview in 2015, said that being beautiful has “hurt her in her career”.

In her debut in the Brazilian Serie A Championship, she pointed out a non-existent offside, to which a commentator exclaimed on TV, “The assistant is beautiful but is not ready for this. She’s beautiful, but you have to be good at your job. She should leave it and pose for Playboy.”

Oi pessoal! Voltei às redes sociais com esse novo insta porque não consegui recuperar minhas senhas kkk . Só esse perfil é real! Beijos, Fernanda Colombo

A post shared by Fernanda Colombo (@fernandacolomboreal) on Mar 14, 2018 at 2:59pm PDT

She has another connection with the game — her fiancé is the Brazilian central referee, Sandro Ricci.

Colombo adds kick to the game, and to those wanting to make sexist comments, can land one on the seat of their pants too.