 | |||
| Full name | Shona Shukrula | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | May 24, 1991 Alkmaar, Netherlands | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2016–2024 | Derde Divisie | Referee | |
| 2017–2019 | Beloften Eredivisie | Referee | |
| 2018–2021 | Vierde Divisie | Referee | |
| 2019– | Tweede Divisie | Referee | |
| 2020– | Eerste Divisie | Fourth official | |
| 2024– | Eerste Divisie | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2017– | FIFA | Referee | |
Shona Shukrula (born 24 May 1991) is a Dutch football referee, [1] [2] [3] [4] the first female referee in Dutch professional football. [5]
Shukrula played football until the age of 17 in the Alkmaar club AFC '34, where she also volunteered. [6] She also became a club referee there. In the 2009/2010 season, she began officiating matches for the KNVB (Royal Dutch Football Association). In 2010, she was included in the KNVB Talent Development Program for Amateur Football. [7]
On 13 May 2017, she debuted in the 2016–17 season of the Derde Divisie, the fourth tier of football in the Netherlands, as the referee of the Rijnsburgse Boys – VV Capelle match. On 2 June 2017, she led the KNVB Women's Cup final between Ajax and PSV. [8]
In 2017, Shukrula became a listed referee for FIFA. [9] [10] [11] Since then, she has received international assignments for Women's Champions League, Women's Championship, Women's World Cup, and also Women's Under-17 and Women's Under-19 Championship qualifiers. She made her international debut on 13 March 2017, at the 2017 Women's Under-17 Championship qualification match between Republic of Ireland and Serbia (1-0). [8] [12] She also led the match between Serbia and Scotland (1-2) on March 18, 2017, during the qualifications. [13]
In 2019, she was promoted to category 2 on the FIFA list. [14] In December 2020, UEFA announced that Shukrula had been promoted again, this time to category 1. [15]
On December 14, 2019, Shukrula became the first woman in the Netherlands to officiate a match at the highest amateur level of men's football. This took place during the match between Jong Sparta and ASWH in the Tweede Divisie (Second Division). [16]
On September 5, 2020, Shukrula made her debut as the first female fourth official in the Netherlands in the Eerste Divisie. [17] This occurred during the FC Eindhoven – SC Telstar match at Jan Louwers Stadion.
In May 2024, the KNVB promoted her to the position of the first female referee in professional men's football in the Netherlands. [18] On October 4, 2024, Shukrula made her debut as a referee in men's professional football during the match TOP Oss – ADO Den Haag in the Eerste Divisie. [19] [20]
On 29 October 2024, Shukrula officiated the match between Portugal and Azerbaijan at the Women's Euro 2025 qualifying play-offs. [21]
Together with her Surinamese father, Dutch mother, and three brothers, Shukrula grew up in Alkmaar. She studied law at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and works as a public prosecutor for the Public Prosecution Service in North Holland.
In 2021, she started dating professional footballer Jeff Hardeveld. [22] They married in June 2023.