The Girona referee aspiring to everything

Advance by leaps and bounds. And in a matter of a couple of years, to go from whistling to Tercera Catalana to standing in the elite of women’s football. Ágata González has no stop. The referee from Hostalric was examined last week in the promotion tests to Primera Iberdrola, the highest women’s division in Spain, and, at the beginning of next month, will know the results to face a new season that will be like either, it will be profitable. “I did pretty well, but until August 4 we won’t know anything. We have to wait for the classification, which is statewide and we have not been told how many girls will enter “, explains González, who is the only Catalan who aspires to it.

Being called by the Committee of Referees of the Catalan Football Federation to apply for promotion to Primera Iberdrola was “surprising”. According to the 23-year-old collegiate, “I have been arbitrating for quite some time. I moved up a category fast, but compared to the other girls I think I have a short time. I look forward to this opportunity with enthusiasm and awareness that if I don’t get it this year, I will work harder to prepare for the next one. ” At first, González “went as a substitute in case the main referee, who was the real candidate, got injured”, although they immediately told me, at the last minute, that she was also a candidate like the other girl. ». “I had less time than the rest, almost three weeks when it had to be about two months. I had to prepare very quickly, ”he says. He also came across the coronavirus: “Luckily, Hostalric City Council gave me the keys to the field and I was able to train on the pitch for a few days. Each has had to seek life as best she can. I’m not afraid not to pass them because I know that another year I can prepare better.

The physical and technical tests took place on Wednesday and Saturday last week: “The other girl did not pass the physical tests and I was left alone in Catalonia in the techniques.” Quite a merit considering how little time he had to prepare them and even more so knowing that he reaches every milestone at cruising speed. “I started refereeing until Juvenil in the province of Girona, immediately my delegate saw potential in me and in the first year I was promoted to Tercera Catalana. This season, I was the only one from Girona who was promoted to Second in the middle of the season. It is usually promoted at the end of the season, but if you do the times very well and get good grades you can go up faster “.

In addition to refereeing, González has been a player since the age of 16, going through teams such as Hostalric or Palautordera to Preferente, and combines it with her studies in Chemical Engineering at the University of Barcelona – she graduated this year and intends to pursue a master’s degree. “I got into the world of arbitration very spontaneously. I take evolution as a natural thing and at no point can the fumes rise to me. From one category to another, there is a significant leap and the decisions or resolutions that need to be made are even more so. There are more and more people watching the matches and you have to be aware of what you are doing, studying more and preparing yourself physically. You have to be super attentive to every play “, he assures.

With a lot of effort and dedication, González has paved a path that has not been easy at all: “It is difficult to take time for everything, but if you like refereeing you already have the motivation. Let them see your potential and trust you even more motivating ». If he finally gets promoted, it will not be the first time that the Girona referee has whistled a women’s match: “I have refereed until the Women’s Second Division, the Retro Iberdrola, a very beautiful category with atmosphere. You may not run as much, but they play the ball a lot and you have to be very attentive. They play more to the touch and not so much physical ”. Despite being the top female division, “if I went up to Iberdrola, I would have to continue with my studies because it is not professional enough. You don’t have a fixed salary like a first man referee would have.