The first transgender referee in football opened up on how the game changed her life and how she worried she wouldn’t be accepted after transitioning.

Lucy Clark, 51, bravely chose to come out as transgender in 2018, and she now serves as a flag bearer for the trans community in football. Lucy Clark officiates in the Women’s National League and at the grassroots level for men’s football.

She was hospitalized for a heart attack after initially choosing to abandon the game out of concern that she would not be accepted or recognized after coming out. She decided to accept her identity and keep refereeing after having a health scare.

Clark, who at a young age felt trapped in her own body, embraced football as a much-needed getaway and has even acknowledged the sport stopped a suicide attempt.

She said in a statement to Guinness World Records, “I wonder whether I would genuinely be here if it weren’t for football. When I was young, I knew what was going on in my head and there were lots of things that young boys were doing that I didn’t want to be doing. I didn’t want to be playing soldiers but I could play football.”

“I did try to commit suicide when I was younger. I used to stand on the top of Balaam House (a high-rise in Sutton), willing myself to jump.”

“I’d go to the side that overlooks Sutton United. I’d have that focus and see that ground, which probably made me come down in a lift rather than other forms.”

Clark has discussed the many ways football has benefited her throughout her incredible journey, which has football at its core.

“Refereeing, you just forget about everything,’ she added. ‘Football’s great for your mental health and your physical health.”

She nearly decided to hang up her whistle at the end of 2018 due to her worry that football might have rejected her.

“2017-18 was going to be my last season refereeing, having been a referee for many years,’ she admitted. ‘I was in the process of transitioning and at that point, I didn’t think that the football world would accept me.”