The occasional off-ball ranting and angry outbursts in Egyptian football could notably decline should female referees take charge of matches, Sara Samir said after a picture of her firmly brandishing a yellow card to a male player went viral on social media.

Egypt's first female referee Samir is hoping she can alter a tradition of exclusively assigning football matches to male officials, saying she had faced no difficulties in climbing up the refereeing ladder in the conservative country.

"I believe that it will be a very good idea if more female referees take charge of men's football matches. Players become highly disciplined when I take charge of any match in the lower divisions," Samir said in a phone interview with Ahram Online.

"We are in an eastern society where men usually refrain from obscenities in the presence of women. For instance, in the fourth division players usually hurl a barrage of insults but when I refereed some matches in that tier, I found nothing but respect."

Samir, who started her refereeing career in 2007, mainly officiates lower-division matches as well as youth games, but she seems on course to break into the elite Premier League.

Ahly's left-back Hussein El-Sayed made headlines for the wrong reasons when he appeared to spit at the referee during his side's 1-1 draw with Petrojet on Tuesday, a scene that might vanish should Samir and her fellow female referees take a more prominent role.

No problems

"My family did not have any objections over my job. They know that I'm aware of what would benefit me in my career," Samir added.

"On the official level, everyone was also supportive. Many ordinary people also phoned me to congratulate me and wish me luck."

Samir has her eyes set on a place among the Premier League referees. Her ultimate and long-term aim though is to take charge of World Cup matches, a feat last achieved by Essam Abdel-Fattah, who is the current refereeing chief, at the 2006 World Cup.

"I want to take part in more than World Cup. I'm still young, I have a chance to do so," she enthusiastically said.

Sara Samir Egypt's first female referee (Photo: Wadi Degla Facebook page )

Sara Samir Egypt's first female referee (Photo: Wadi Degla Facebook page )

Sara Samir Egypt's first female referee (Photo: Wadi Degla Facebook page )