Lale Orta

Lale Orta — Biography

Born on 1 April 1960 in Gümüşhane, Lale Orta became Turkey's first female football coach and first female football referee. Over twenty years of officiating in men's leagues, she managed more than 1,500 professional and amateur matches and, as one of the world's first FIFA-badged women referees, took charge of 60 international fixtures.

She earned the title of Turkey's first female football doctor after completing her doctoral thesis in 2000, and later served as chairperson of the Turkish Football Federation's Central Referee Committee. Alongside her career on the pitch, she is also known for her advocacy work on gender equality in sport.

Now an academic in the field of sports science, Orta remains a frequent voice in Turkish football media, and in 2026 she spoke out in support of women referees officiating in the Süper Lig while sharing her assessments of Turkish refereeing.