UEFA Appoints Stephanie Frappart As First Female Referee
UEFA Appoints Stephanie Frappart As First Female Referee at Men's World Cup
UEFA has appointed Stephanie Frappart to the first ever female referee at a men's World Cup game. Frappart will be in charge of the Group E match between Germany and Costa Rica, which is scheduled for Thursday. The match will determine whether or not Germany can qualify for the tournament. If the Europeans win, they will have a chance at making the knockout stage of the tournament in Qatar. However, if the Central Americans win, they could also make history as the first team to qualify for two consecutive tournaments.
Frappart will be joined by Neuza Back of Brazil and Karen Diaz Medina of Mexico for the big game. She is also the first female to officiate a men's Champions League game. Frappart has also officiated men's games in her home country, such as the French Cup final last year. She has also refereed Ligue 1 matches, European World Cup qualifiers and even the UEFA Super Cup between Chelsea and Liverpool.
Frappart has also been selected as one of the three referees in the pool of officials for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. She has been on the FIFA International Referees List since 2009. She was also the fourth official for the Mexican-Polish game and was tasked with the aforementioned UEFA super cup match between Chelsea and Liverpool. She was also nominated to referee the upcoming Euros in 2020.
Frappart is also one of the three women on Fifa's official list of official male and female referees. She has also been appointed as a fourth official for a few high profile men's club matches. In fact, she was the first female to referee a Champions League group game in 2017. However, she will be the first woman to referee a men's World Cup game.
Frappart will be in charge of the first ever all female officiating team for a men's World Cup game. As well as leading the team on the field, she will also be working with the video review team. This will involve her demonstrating the tiniest detail in order to ensure the game is played to the highest standard possible. She will also be working as an offside specialist for the team of VAR officials. She is one of the three female referees on the list for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
In addition to Stephanie Frappart, the other women on Fifa's list are Yoshimi Yamashita of Japan, Said Martinez of Honduras, and Caroline Leroy of France. The three female referees were selected from a pool of 36. They will all be involved in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which will mark the first time a woman has officiated a men's World Cup game. With that said, there are still plenty of other firsts to be had in the tournament.
In fact, if the three female officials manage to make it through to the knockout phase of the tournament in Qatar, they will be the first female referees in history to referee a men's game at a World Cup.