Players I can deal with... it’s the fans where the issues could come

that’ll be interesting on the pitch. I still need a strong voice while reffing but I’m thinking how I can make the whistle talk more. But that’s not my game though, I’m vocal.

“I can appreciate people will be a bit shocked but I’m still the same person on the inside. I just look a bit different when I go out – not like what they imagined. It’ll be nice not to live in two different worlds.”

Lucy’s life has been a tough one. At seven at school she did not feel like other boys and wanted to be at the girls’ school.

She threw himself into football, which came to her rescue in her time of need. But at 15 she tried to take her own life. She said: “I used to go to sleep and wish I’d never wake up. There used to be a big block of flats on the road where I lived. On more than one occasion I’d stand on the top of it and thought about ending it all. “I took tablets and drank alcohol. I ended up having my stomach pumped. “A ridiculously high percentage of transgender people attempt suicide. How many people who have succeeded, we don’t know.” Lucy hopes by talking more about the issue fewer people will feel so lost. Wife Avril, 54, helped Lucy feel truly comfortable in who she was. The pair, from Surrey, enjoy dressing up and going on nights out in London and Milton Keynes. Next year, after three years on hormones, Lucy expects to have gender reassingment surgery.

She said: “I don’t want facial feminisation. Luckily I don’t have the Adam’s apple. Me and Avril are talking about having make-up lessons.

“I have the contour kit but don’t know how to use it. We get our nails done together and go out shopping.”

Lucy said: “Avril steals my clothes. We have our own styles. She’ll see something I wear and go I like that. I’ve nicked a body suit. Avril wears Doc Martens, which I never wear.”

A part of the transgender community for 18 years, this year Lucy started a radio station – Trans Radio UK. She said: “It’s broadcasting to over 39 countries now, which is unbelievable. I can’t believe how quickly it’s grown.” For now, Lucy will officiate women’s football. But she eventually hopes to move back into the men’s game.

Today is the start of a remarkable journey for her, one she is determined will have a positive ending.

She said: “I am looking to the future and want to progress as a referee. I’d have loved to have got to the Premier League but I’m probably too old now. But I want to go up a few levels.”

Lucy’s much-loved pink whistle makes a return for today’s match – a nod to the woman she’s always been.

She said: “When I blow that whistle today I can finally be myself. I’ve waited a lifetime for that.”