Turkish football referee and acaďemic
Gamze Durmuş Pakkan (née Durmuş; 1994) is a Turkish female FIFA-listed football referee.[1][2] She is an academic at Gazi University in Ankara, Turkey.[3]
Sports career
Domestic competitions
Durmuş was born in 1993,[4] and started her football official career as assistant referee in a Turkish Women's Football Third League match played in Ankara on 7 December 2014.[5] İn 2015, she was promoted to referee, and officiated the Turkish Women's Football Second League match on 20 December between Fomget GSK and Ovacık GSK.[6] On 1 October 2016, she served for the first time as fourth official in the Turkish Men's Football U21 League match between Kardemir Karabükspor and Trabzonspor.[7] On 23 October the same year, she officiated her first Turkish Regional Amateur League match.[8]
On 10 March 2017, she debuted as referee in a TFF Third League (Professional) match.[9] Her first Turkish Women's Football First League match as referee took place between Fomget GSK and Kireçburnu Spor on 22 December 2019.[10] She was promoted to a video assistant referee (VAR) position in the Turkish Men's Football Super League match between Galatasaray S.K. and Fatih Karagümrük S.K. on 2 April 2022.[11]
On 23 October 2022, she served the first time as referee in the TFF Second League (Professional) match between Bucaspor 1928 and Balıkesirspor.[12] On 11 March 2023, she debuted as fourth official in a Turkish Men's Super League match.[13] As of 1 October 2023, she has served in various official roles in a total of 163 matches at different level domestic men's and women's competitions.[1]
Gamze Durmuş and her husband Burak Pakkan were appointed to officiate the 2021–22 TFF First League derby match in Ankara on 12 September 2021 between MKE Ankaragücü and Gençlerbirliği S.K.[4] While Burak administered the match, she served as the fourth official.[14] That a married referee couple were together in charge in an official league match happened for the first time in the history of Turkish football.[4]
International competitions
Nominated by the Turkish Referee's Cemtral Committee (Turkish: Merkez Hakem Kurulu, MHK), she was confirmed as a FIFA-listed football referee in December 2020.[4]
In November 2021, she officiated one match at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group E.[15] In September 2021 and March 2022, she administered four matches at the 2022 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualification – League B, Group B1.[16] In October 2023, she served in two matches at the 2024 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship qualification.[17]
Personal life
Durmuş lives in Ankara, Turkey. On 20 June 2021, she married in Ankara to Burak Pakkan, who is also a football referee.[4][18]
Durmuş holds a PhD title in Sport management from the Faculty of Sports at Gazi University in Ankara,[19] and is a faculty member at the same university.[3]
References