Football SA would like to congratulate Match Official Isabella (Izzy) Blaess on her incredible selection as part of the Asian Football Confederation Referee Academy. 

Isabella started playing football at the age of nine at her local club after her best friend at the time said her team needed a fill-in for the weekend.
Isabella stated:

It was from that moment that I fell in love with the game”

At the age of 13, Isabella started her referee journey after completing the online referee course to start officiating school games on a Saturday for some extra pocket money and to keep herself fit and active.

Isabella’s desire to make the elite level of refereeing led her to make the difficult decision to end her playing career to pressure her love of officiating.

Isabella indicated that:

I knew that I would have a longer and more successful career in refereeing and had the right people around me to encourage and push me in the right direction.”

I’m very thankful that honest conversations were had, otherwise I wouldn’t be living my dream”

Isabella’s attempts at making the elite level of officiating were fulfilled in 2015, as at the age of 18 she earned the opportunity to officiate as an Assistant Referee for Liberty A-League matches, ultimately making the big switch to centre Referee in 2019.

Isabella is pleased that:

Even though I’m relatively new to the national panel, I have seen a lot of progress in the competition, both on and off the field”

Involved in over 60 Liberty A-League matches during her seven years on the panel, Isabella has been the centre Referee for 29 matches with the ambition of striving to reach the 50-game milestone over the next few seasons.

During this time, some of Isabella’s highlights have included officiating the 2021 Semi-Final (Sydney FC vs Canberra United), the 2018 Grand Final 4^th Official (Melbourne City vs Sydney FC) and the 2017 Semi-Final Assistant Referee (Melbourne City vs Brisbane Roar).

Isabella has an extensive history of officiating in South Australia. Please see below Isabella’s Football SA officiating stats, honours and finals:

Isabella Blaess – Football SA Achievements

• 32 Senior Men's matches
  • 18 NPLSA
  • 9 State League 1
  • 4 State League 2
  • 1 Australia Cup SA Preliminary Rounds
  • Senior Debut: Round 13, 2017 (Fulham United v Northern Demons, 03/06/17)
  • NPL SA Debut: Round 7, 2019 (Para Hills Knights v Campbelltown City, 13/04/19)
• 35 NPL SA matches as Assistant Referee
  • NPL SA Debut as AR: Round 19, 2014 (Cumberland United v Adelaide Blue Eagles, 28/06/14)
• 48 Senior Women's matches (including match on 7/5)
  • 43 1st Division
    • including 33 Women's NPL SA
  • 1 Women's State League
  • 4 Women's Premier Cup
  • Senior Debut/1st Division Debut: Round 5, 2015 (Para Hills Knights v West Adelaide, 08/05/15)
    • Women's NPL SA Debut: Round 4, 2016 (Adelaide University v Adelaide City, 15/04/16)

Honours/Finals:

2013 Under 15 Girls Cup Final as Referee

2013 Under 13 Girls Cup Final as Fourth Official

2014 NPL Under 18's Grand Final as Assistant Referee 2

2014 Women's Division 4-6 Cup Final as Referee

2014 Under 13 Girls Cup Final as Fourth Official

2015 Federation Cup Under 18's Final as Assistant Referee 2

2015 Women's Premier Cup Final as Assistant Referee 1

2015 National Premier Leagues SA Grand Final as Assistant Referee 2

2016 Women's Charity Cup as Referee

2017 Women's Premier Cup Final as Assistant Referee 1

2017 Women's Promotion/Relegation Playoff Series - Second Leg as Referee

2017 Women's National Premier Leagues SA Grand Final as Referee

2020 National Premier Leagues Grand Final as Fourth Official