Onică Vera
Main achievement
FIFA referee. Participated in the qualifiers for the European and World Championships in women's football
About
Vera Onică is an internationally recognized Moldovan football referee who has dedicated her career to serving the sport with professionalism and integrity. Born on January 3, 1986, she hails from the village of Măgdăcești, Criuleni district, and grew up in a family with strong sporting traditions. Her father, Vitalie Onică, was a referee in the National League and an observer for the Moldovan Football Federation, and her grandfather was passionate about sports and a healthy lifestyle. Inspired by her father's example and their shared passion for football, Vera aspired to become a referee from childhood, attending specialized courses at the Moldovan Football Federation with the support of professors Victor Gheciu, Vladimir Antonov, and Vladimir Cebotari. Her refereeing career began in 2001, at the age of 15, with a children's football match on the field next to the Chisinau Polyvalent Hall, and since then she has steadily advanced in the referees' hierarchy. As a FIFA-accredited referee, Vera Onică has been assigned to numerous important international competitions, including the UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship, where she made her first trip abroad at the age of 18, to Slovenia. She has also refereed matches in the Champions League, in addition to numerous games in the preliminaries of European Championships and other UEFA competitions, being recognized for her professionalism, objectivity, and ability to maintain control on the field. In parallel with her refereeing activity, Vera Onică works with young people in the locality, having been an instructor-methodologist and football coach at the sports school in Măgdăcești for two years. She believes that, although football in the Republic of Moldova is developing at an advanced pace and there are very talented children in villages, discovering these talents at the right time is essential. Vera Onică exemplifies that a football referee must be objective, patient, know when to be strict and when to smile, and by representing the federation, must look good on the field.
