| Shona Shukrula | |
| Fullname: | Shona Shukrula |
| Birth Date: | 24 May 1991 |
| Birth Place: | Alkmaar, Netherlands |
| Years1: | 2016–2024 |
| League1: | Derde Divisie |
| Role1: | Referee |
| Years2: | 2017–2019 |
| League2: | Beloften Eredivisie |
| Role2: | Referee |
| Years3: | 2018–2021 |
| League3: | Vierde Divisie |
| Role3: | Referee |
| Years4: | 2019– |
| League4: | Tweede Divisie |
| Role4: | Referee |
| Years5: | 2020– |
| League5: | Eerste Divisie |
| Role5: | Fourth official |
| Years6: | 2024– |
| League6: | Eerste Divisie |
| Role6: | Referee |
| Internationalyears1: | 2017– |
| Confederation1: | FIFA |
| Internationalrole1: | Referee |
Shona Shukrula (born 24 May 1991) is a Dutch football referee,[1] [2] [3] [4] the first female referee in Dutch professional football.[5]
Shukrula played football until the age of 17 in the Alkmaar club AFC '34, where she also volunteered.[6] She also became a club referee there. In the 2009/2010 season, she began officiating matches for the KNVB (Royal Dutch Football Association). In 2010, she was included in the KNVB Talent Development Program for Amateur Football.[7]
On 13 May 2017, she debuted in the 2016–17 season of the Derde Divisie, the fourth tier of football in the Netherlands, as the referee of the Rijnsburgse Boys – VV Capelle match. On 2 June 2017, she led the KNVB Women's Cup final between Ajax and PSV.[8]
In 2017, Shukrula became a listed referee for FIFA.[9] [10] [11] Since then, she has received international assignments for Women's Champions League, Women's Championship, Women's World Cup, and also Women's Under-17 and Women's Under-19 Championship qualifiers. She made her international debut on 13 March 2017, at the 2017 Women's Under-17 Championship qualification match between Republic of Ireland and Serbia (1-0).[12] She also led the match between Serbia and Scotland (1-2) on March 18, 2017, during the qualifications.[13]
In 2019, she was promoted to category 2 on the FIFA list.[14] In December 2020, UEFA announced that Shukrula had been promoted again, this time to category 1.[15]
On December 14, 2019, Shukrula became the first woman in the Netherlands to officiate a match at the highest amateur level of men's football. This took place during the match between Jong Sparta and ASWH in the Tweede Divisie (Second Division).[16]
On September 5, 2020, Shukrula made her debut as the first female fourth official in the Netherlands in the Eerste Divisie.[17] This occurred during the FC Eindhoven – SC Telstar match at Jan Louwers Stadion.
In May 2024, the KNVB promoted her to the position of the first female referee in professional men's football in the Netherlands.[18] On October 4, 2024, Shukrula made her debut as a referee in men's professional football during the match TOP Oss – ADO Den Haag in the Eerste Divisie.[19] [20]
On 29 October 2024, Shukrula officiated the match between Portugal and Azerbaijan at the Women's Euro 2025 qualifying play-offs.[21]
Together with her Surinamese father, Dutch mother, and three brothers, Shukrula grew up in Alkmaar. She studied law at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and works as a public prosecutor for the Public Prosecution Service in North Holland.
In 2021, she started dating professional footballer Jeff Hardeveld.[22] They married in the June 2023.