Background
Lale Orta was born 1960 in Istanbul.
Lale Orta was born 1960 in Istanbul.
Following her primary and secondary education in shools at Aksaray, Cibali and Bakırköy, she studied Accounting and Finance at Marmara University graduating in 1986. She received a Doctor of Philosophy degree with a thesis on "An Analytical Approach over the Football Organizations in Turkey and the World" (Turkish: "Dünyada ve Türkiye"de futbol organizasyonları üzerine analitik bir yaklaşım") at her alma mater in 2002.
She was Turkey"s first ever Fédération internationale de football association listed woman referee. Currently, she is an academic in the field of sports science. Player and coach Between 1976 and 1989, she played football as goalkeeper in Dostluk Spor, the first women"s football team of Turkey, and served as its captain.
She became later the country"s first female certified football coach, and worked as such for Dostluk Spor and the Turkey women"s national football team
Referee Orta began her referee career as an assistant referee in a match of the Turkish reserve team league, called A2 Ligi, on September 10, 1990. She made her debut as a referee in the same league on October 7, 1990.
She was then promoted to officiate in the TFF Third League on October 27, 1990 and in the TFF Second League on January 28, 1996. Orta was appointed to supervise the highest-level Turkish league competitions in the Süper Lig for the first time in the match Sakaryaspor against MKE Ankaragücü on May 29, 1999.
She served as referee in the Turkish Women"s First Football League debuting on April 9, 2000.
After officiating more than 1,500 amateur and professional football matches including 60 international in various competitions, she retired from active referee career in domestic football after her last match on December 5, 2004. The Turkish Football Federation named her official observer for the Super Lig matches with effect of the 2007-2008 season. In 1995, she received the Fédération internationale de football association badge as one of the first 54 women referees from 27 countries in the world.
In this capacity, she officiated international matches in eleven years.
Orta was named a "Union of European Football Associations Elite Referee" among 17 European referees in 2003. On November 28, 2002, Orta supervised the quarter-finals match between Arsenal Ladies and CSK VVS Samara at the 2002-2003 Union of European Football Associations Women"s Cup held in Street Albans England.
She oversaw the preliminary round match between Russia and France at the 2005 Union of European Football Associations Women"s Championship qualification in Moscow, Russia on May 16, 2004 and the final match of 2005 Union of European Football Associations Women"s Cup between the German 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam and the Swedish Djurgårdens IF Dam on May 15, 2005.
Due to 45-years of age limit for referees set by the Fédération internationale de football association, Orta"s international referee career ended after the 2007 Fédération internationale de football association Women"s World Cup qualification (Union of European Football Associations) match she officiated between the national women"s teams of Spain and Belgium played in Madrid, Spain on November 5, 2005.
Foreign the 2007-2008 Union of European Football Associations Women"s Cup semifinal second-leg match between the Italian A.S.D. Chaplain to the Forces Bardolino Verona and the German 1. FFC Frankfurt teams played in Verona, Italy on April 5, 2008, she served as the official observer.