Confined to a wheelchair since birth, Juan Francisco Rodriguez Torres is a referee in several Mexican leagues, such as Casabella, in the Monterrey metropolitan area. Supported by his colleague from the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL), Francisco Meraz Cobos, he sets out in the so-called "Cathedral of Fast Soccer of Mexico" to referee matches of children's football.
“I started to referee when I was 13 years old in a little dirt field in the La Unidad neighborhood, next to San Martin, in the municipality of Escobedo. I have been in refereeing for 18 years, with participation in different leagues within the children, pre-juvenile, youth, women's categories”, he said. Knowing how to overcome the problem of hydrocephalus and clubfoot, with which he has dealt throughout his 38 years of life, Rodriguez Torres rejects being labeled as a disabled person, since he considers that, despite his disability of not having his lower extremities, he can develop movements with his other parts of the body, which has allowed him to develop and perform various activities in his life. “Many people have encouraged me, giving me advice and support, both my parents and my brothers, my wife, people I know from my neighborhood, my friends, colleagues have encouraged me to get ahead and it is a challenge that I set to myself” he said.
“I have knocked on many doors, throughout my life, I have had some ups and downs, I have even received criticism, but everything is possible in this life, the sport has given me great satisfaction, since I have known places, leagues, teams, teachers, fellow referee friends, I have met professional Mexican referees who have helped me improve myself and overcome any difficulty,” he adds. The motivation of seeing the children playing football helps Francisco always get ahead, since he does not plan to leave refereeing until his abilities no longer allow it.
Surrounded by the members of the 2012-2013 category teams, the rivals that afternoon in the Casabella League, Rodriguez Torres is received by the children themselves, and each movement of his wheelchair is accompanied by a shower of applause, as the heroes are received, an event that reaches the soul of Juan Francisco, who proudly continues to advance until he reaches the center of the synthetic rectangle to blow his whistle to start the match. “We are all human beings, we are all the same, not because one walks and the other does not walk means that we are different, we are human beings who have feet, we have hands, we have hearts, we have brains, I ask more people who are in situations like mine to eliminate their disability, we must not stop fighting and much less shut down because of what they tell us”, he points out. “It happened to me a long time ago, that I fell for what they told me, but with the advice of my parents, my wife, my friends and the bosses that I have had who have supported me to continue in football leagues, is what has allowed me to get ahead, because if you allow yourself to be offended, to be humiliated or made fun of, you will be upset and will not risk to get ahead; on the contrary, we must go out and improve ourselves, since they see what we can. If God allows, I will continue in refereeing, loving and valuing the sport for as long as I can”, concluded Juan Francisco Rodriguez.
Source: El Horizonte