French referee Stephanie Frappart will handle Germany’s match against Costa Rica in Qatar on Thursday, becoming the first woman to take charge of a men’s World Cup match.
UPDATE – 11:18 PM, WEDNESDAY – 30 NOV 22
FIFA announced on November 29, 2022 that France’s Frapparte will be the first female referee in the Men’s World Cup. (Photo: AFP)
Doha: French referee Stephanie Frappart, who will handle Germany’s match against Costa Rica in Qatar on Thursday, will become the first woman to take charge of a men’s World Cup match.
FIFA also picked two women to serve as Frappart’s assistants – Brazil’s Neuza Back and Mexico’s Karen Diaz Medina – to complete an all-female refereeing team.
American Katherine Nesbitt, the fourth female referee chosen by FIFA for the World Cup, will also work at the Albert Stadium as an offside specialist for the video review team. Two other women, Rwanda’s Salima Mukansanga and Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita, are also on FIFA’s list to referee the Qatar match.
FIFA has made the historic appointment for the 44th of 64 games played in Qatar. Frappart had previously been elected to a fourth term in public office.
The 38-year-old Frenchwoman has been promoted to the men’s game by European football body UEFA and her home country.
She has refereeed men’s matches in World Cup qualifiers and the UEFA Champions League, as well as this year’s French Cup men’s final. She is also in charge of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals 2019.
