Wikipedia

Lucy Clark

Lucy Clark (born 1971)[1] is the manager of Sutton United F.C.'s women's fifth-tier team and a former referee. A trans woman, she was the first transgender referee and is also the first out trans competitive association football manager in the country. She is additionally the founder and manager of TRUK United F.C., a dedicated football club for transgender people.

Lucy Clark
Managerial career
Years Team
2024–present Sutton United F.C.
2021–present TRUK United F.C.

Career

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Clark has been a lifelong supporter of Sutton United F.C.,[2] and has stated that while playing football video games she would edit the teams to be Sutton United.[3] She has said that she realised her body did not match her gender, though did not yet have the word for it, when her age was "single figures" in the early 1980s,[4] and that playing football helped distract her from this, stating that "football saved [her] life".[5] She coached her first team at age 16,[2] gained a UEFA B coaching licence,[6] and became a manager for a men's non-league club in Essex.[1][2] At age 30,[4] in 2001,[5] Clark told Avril, her girlfriend of about a year and later her wife, that she was transgender. Clark quit football management to focus on refereeing.[4]

Finding that she was struggling to stay closeted about being transgender around 2017 or 2018, she initially made the decision that that 2017-18 season would be her last.[7] She experienced multiple heart attacks due to a blocked artery in 2017,[4][7] being late to the West Ham vs Arsenal game at the 2016–17 EFL Cup as she had to stop while walking to the ground as she was unknowingly having attacks,[5] and then spending Christmas that year in hospital after having an attack in the surgery, and having missed what she thought were her last games refereeing, instead decided not to give up football.[4][7] In 2018, she came out as transgender, declaring publicly that she wanted to stay involved in football.[2] This made her the first transgender referee in football.[1] This achievement was recognised by Guinness World Records, which certified her as the first openly transgender football referee in the world.[8]

Clark went on to found Trans Radio (TRUK) alongside her wife Avril, followed by the transgender advice helpline TRUK Listens.[9] Following this, she received frequent contact from transgender people who wished to play football but who felt unable to do so,[10][11] and in response founded TRUK United F.C., a dedicated football club for transgender people in the UK, in January 2021.[11] With Clark acting as a player-manager for the club, it has fielded the first all-trans women's team and the first all-trans men's team in the UK.[2] In 2023, Clark was nominated for the National Diversity Awards' Positive Role Model Award, and was featured in the documentary In The Middle, which celebrated various football referees.[12] That year, she donated the shirts and boots she wore during her first game as an openly transgender referee in 2018 to the National Football Museum in Manchester. At this point, Clark was refereeing in the Women's National League as well as in the men's game at a grassroots level.[13]

On 24 January 2024, Clark was hired as a manager for Sutton United Women F.C. in the fifth-tier London & South East Regional Women’s Premier Division, making her the first-ever out transgender manager in the top five divisions of English competitive football.[2][1] Following this, she had the task of attempting to guide the team out of a possible relegation, though lost her first game in charge in a 3-1 defeat to Fulham F.C.[6] Clark has stated that she faced online abuse after the announcement, as well as an attack from J. K. Rowling, though has said she has "thick skin".[14][15] Under Clark in 2024, Sutton signed former Hastings United player Blair Hamilton, a transgender woman, as a goalkeeper.[16] In Hamilton's debut match in August, Sutton enjoyed a 6-0 victory against Haywards Heath.[17] Following this, Clark received criticism for the appointment,[16] and a match between Sutton and Ebbsfleet United was postponed that September "through an abundance of caution" around possible legal issues and the avoidance of "negative attention and hate".[17]

Clark was nominated for the London & South East Regional Football League Premier Division Manager of the Month award in 2025.[18] Amelia Snowdon, the second transgender woman after Clark to become an FA football team manager, in September 2025, cited Clark as an "inspiration".[19]

Clark also appeared in the short documentary film We'll Go Down in History (2025), co-directed by Cameron Richards and Charlie Tidmas, which follows TRUK United F.C.[20]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 Smith, Emma (30 January 2024). "Sutton United appoint transgender former referee Lucy Clark as manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Webb, Karleigh (1 February 2024). "Lucy Clark blazes a new trail from referee to team manager". OutSports. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  3. ↑ Noyce, Eleanor (30 January 2024). "Trans woman makes history as Sutton United football manager". PinkNews. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Cunningham, Sam (27 March 2023). "'Without football I wouldn't be here today': Meet the world's first transgender referee". The i Paper. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 Miller, Nick (31 March 2023). "Trans referee Lucy Clark: 'Football saved my life… when I was messed up I could just play'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Lucy Clark: First in women's football as transgender manager appointed". Sky News. 30 January 2024. Archived from the original on 14 February 2026. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 "'Football saved my life' - football's first transgender referee". BBC Sport (Video). 14 February 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  8. ↑ Pilastro, Eleonora (30 June 2023). ""Football saved my life": Meet Lucy Clark, the first ever transgender referee". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  9. ↑ Walker-Khan, Miriam (5 August 2023). "Future of Football: What will football look like for trans and non-binary players?". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 11 March 2026. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  10. ↑ Peters, Alex (6 June 2023). "TRUK United FC: meet the trans-masculine team making football history". Dazed. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  11. 1 2 McNally, Dominic (30 May 2025). "Meet TRUK United FC, the UK's first trans football club". GCN. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  12. ↑ Hodge, James (31 March 2023). "Lucy Clark on being the first out trans referee in football, facing abuse, and creating her own team". Attitude. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  13. ↑ Chisnall, David (12 July 2023). "World's first transgender referee hopes to inspire with donations to National Football Museum". ITV News. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "Sutton United Women manager Lucy Clark opens up on transgender abuse". Sky Sports (Video). 28 May 2024. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  15. ↑ Perry, Sophie (31 May 2024). "Trans football boss Lucy Clark speaks out after JK Rowling tweets". PinkNews. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  16. 1 2 Garry, Tom (4 September 2024). "Sutton postponed game because of 'safety fears' in transgender row". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  17. 1 2 "Blair Hamilton: Sutton United postponed Ebbsfleet match through 'caution' after transgender signing". BBC Sport. 4 September 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  18. ↑ Bennis, Aaron (4 December 2025). "Women: Lucy Clark Nominated For Manager Of The Month". Sutton United F.C. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  19. ↑ Webb, Karleigh (26 September 2025). "A 2nd trans woman takes the reins as FA football team boss". OutSports. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "Watch new film about trans-inclusive soccer club Truk United FC". OutSports. 20 March 2025. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
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