Published: 13:05, 21 October 2025 | Updated: 13:05, 21 October 2025

A top female referee has hit out at the sport's sexist environment and claimed she was once told to tone down her looks after 'attracting too much attention'.

Manuela Nicolosi, 45, has officiated more than 200 professional matches across men's and women's football during her career — and has even been named in Fortune Italia's 50 Most Powerful Women.

Boasting an impressive CV, having officiated at both the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games, she became the first Italian to referee a Women's World Cup final in 2019 and was an assistant during Liverpool's Super Cup victory over Chelsea that same year.

But her rise to the top has been anything but smooth sailing. According to Nicolosi, her appearance has proved a major obstacle in the 'male-dominated world' of football.

Asked in an interview with Quotidiano Sportivo last year whether her looks have given her an advantage as an official, she said: 'No, on the contrary. All my superiors told me: you have to be less visible, you attract too much attention. 

'In...