Spain's female football referees on frontline of coronavirus fight

Nurse and semi-professional football referee Iragartze Fernandez officiating a match (L), at a hospital desk (C) and at a hospital in Bilbao during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak [COURTESY]

"I'm just doing my bit," says Iragartze Fernandez, the part-time referee turned full-time nurse who has swapped the whistle for a face-mask in the hope of helping Spain combat the deadly coronavirus.

The 26-year-old, who officiates matches in La Liga Iberdrola, the top tier of the women's game, and Segunda B, the third tier of the men's, has been practising as a nurse for five years at the Rekalde Health Centre in Bilbao.