Matt Ayyash is proof that hard work pays off as he has become Nova Scotia's first and only deaf soccer referee
Matt Ayyash loves soccer.
He also happens to be deaf, but that hasn't kept him on sidelines as he's become the first and only deaf referee in Nova Scotia.
Ayyash, who was born in Jerusalem, is proof that hard work pays off.
After moving to Canada when he was 13 years old, he got involved in several different sports growing up.
"It wasn't until five years ago that I got the idea to become a soccer referee," Ayyash said through interpreter Mae Smithman. "I remember thinking that I wanted to be a ref and I was like, 'but can I?' When I decided to become a referee there was a lot of people that would comment, and they're like 'you're gonna become a ref, but your deaf. How is that gonna work?' And I was like 'I don't know but I'm gonna try.'"
His brother, Mike Ayyash, said Matt is "a really determined person."
"Since we were kids, he never saw his lack of hearing as a disability, he thinks more about what he can do and not what he can't do," Mike Ayyash said.
Carman King is a fellow referee with Soccer Nova Scotia.
"When Matt first approached me about being a referee he said 'I'd like to take the course. How far do you think I can go. Do you think I can be a referee?' and the answer was, 'of course you can be a referee, it's just a matter of do you want to be and how eager are you to be involved in this?"
King says it's difficult to know what limitations, if any, there might be for Ayyash.
"He has met all the expectations on him he has not found a barrier yet to being able to advance," King said.
Ayyash says there was a somebody from another province who contacted him about a deaf child who had seen him.
"(The child) had seen me and started to look up to me, and was really excited to see deaf ref," Matt Ayyash said. "So in that sense, I guess I am a role model. I just want to use the access that I'm given in order to show the world that deaf people can do things, it's not about whether you're hearing or you're deaf, it's about your abilities."
His brother, Mike is proud of him.
"It just shows that there's no barrier that you can't overcome if you put your mind to it," Mike Ayyash said. "It's an inspiration, really, not only to us but to anybody who's passionate about something and they want to do it."
Matt Ayyash says it's important for people with disabilities to know that their disability shouldn't be an obstacle.
"Whatever your passion is, if you have it, go ahead and do it," Matt Ayyash said. "It doesn't matter if you have a disability or you're deaf. Don't make it an excuse."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit natural gas levies to the federal government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer filled with relief and grief following acquittal in death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
North Bay doctor accused of assaulting patient, threatening another
A North Bay doctor is facing charges after allegedly assaulting a patient with a weapon and threatening another person at the hospital, police say.