Hawa Sissoko says social media companies need to do more to combat abusive accounts. Photo: Getty Images/Steve Bardens
“I’ll tell you a secret,” says West Ham player Hawa Sissoko. The France defender talks about her disciplinary record in the Women's Super League, a division in which she has been shown three red cards since arriving in 2020. But that hasn't stopped her from pursuing her lifelong dream.
She has ambitions to become a referee.
Such a career dream may be unusual for a professional footballer, but she says with determination in her voice: “ No top-level player in the men's or women's game has become a referee. Perhaps I will be the first.”
This kind of future career growth may seem surprising for a player who hasn't been the WSL's best friend in recent seasons. She was handed the longest ban for a player in WSL history when she received a five-match ban last season for punching Aston Villa's Sara Mayling in the face — a red card she believes she deserves — but for many others as well her warnings and dismissal. , she feels misunderstood.
Sissoko was subjected to online abuse after being sent off against Aston Villa last October following an argument with Sarah Mailing Photo: Getty Images/Harriet Lander
She hopes the experience of playing in the top flight, shared with other officials, can be an incentive to broaden the knowledge base of WSL officials, saying: “It will change everything. As players, everyone wants to be a journalist [pundit] or a coach, but I think that after I retire I would like to become a referee. Maybe this will change my mind.
“I think some people have created an image around me as an aggressive player and all that. But if you look at it, I think I commit fewer fouls than any other defender. Sometimes I finish games and don't foul. People have this idea about me, but it’s not true, I’m calm, I can be calm on the field.”
Despite fears she won't be able to change the perception of her discipline, the 26-year-old says she won't stop being true to herself on the field, adding: «If I want to change the perception [of myself], I need to change my game. and if I change my playing style, I won't be good. I'm fast, I'm strong and powerful. If I stop being myself, West Ham will break my contract and I will play in the Sunday league! I have to remain myself.
“I am really very cool and calm. When I come to them, I try to behave respectfully, speaking in a quiet voice all the time. I had the same experience with male and female judges. One day I got tackled and I felt like it was a foul and he didn't and I said, «Hey, referee, it's a foul!» And he said, “No, just calm down.” Now is not the time to say “calm down.” I think it's just a misunderstanding between the players and the referees. I think we just need to talk to them. I will understand them more if I talk to them and they will understand more.»
«If I turn off the phone, they won't be there.»
Regardless of whether Sissoko deserved the four yellow cards she received in the After her 16 WSL appearances last season, one thing is certain: no one deserves the racist abuse she received online after being dismissed against Villa.
“I didn’t expect this to happen to me, especially since the people who did this don’t even watch our games,” Sissoko said. «If it was from people who follow the league I would have understood a little more, but when it was from [people who] aren't even French or English, I said, 'You should focus on your own business.' I realized, “Okay, some people are just racist,” and they just find every opportunity to be racist and say whatever they want.“Once I realized that, it became easier to deal with because in the beginning you you take it personally, you think they don't like you, when they see you every week they hate me, but when I realized that wasn't the case for WSL fans I thought, «I don't care.»
“On social media I just ignore people because it’s unrealistic. These people can say a lot of things on social networks, but if they met me, they would never say it because they would see that I am actually a person with a heart and feelings.
“If I I'll turn off my phone, they don't exist. The most important thing is the relationship with your teammates, coach and family.”
However, the former Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille defender wants social media to do more to crack down on abusive accounts, adding: “Some people send messages because they know nothing will happen. We need more security.”
“I’m a big fan of female managers.”
Sissoko performs at the opening of the new WSL season, which begins for West Ham at home to Manchester City on Sunday. This is new manager Rehanna Skinner's first game for the East Midlands club and Sissoko says she has been hoping to work with the former Tottenham head coach for some time.
“I'm a big fan of female managers. When she signed for Tottenham I looked at her like, 'Oh, I'd love for her to be a manager', but I never thought it could happen here at West Ham,” Sissoko added. “Then when it was announced, I was excited, but she doesn’t know [that she liked it]! I'm happy. What she's showing now is really good.
“It's the way she sees people. I understand her more than some of my previous managers, not just here at West Ham but throughout my career. It's about how you talk to people, it really takes time to understand each player and then it's easier to make connections. I think women understand other women better. A way of interacting with women, Skinner knows how to do it because she is one herself.”
After hosting Manchester City, West Ham travel to Brighton. Hove Albion on October 8 before traveling to Chelsea next Saturday.
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