Stephanie Frappart‘s appointment as match referee for Thursday’s crunch World Cup clash between Germany and Costa Rica is a step forward for women in a “sexist sport“! With Assistant Referee Neuza Back from Brazil and Karen Diaz from Mexico, a new chapter in the World Cup will be written.
History is set to be made on Thursday! 🤩
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 30, 2022
There will be an all-female refereeing trio taking charge for the first time at a men's #FIFAWorldCup in the match between Costa Rica and Germany.
Referee Stéphanie Frappart will be joined by assistants Neuza Back and Karen Diaz. 👏 pic.twitter.com/fgHfh2DICK
“This is another step forward. This speaks volumes for this woman, of her commitment, especially in this sport which is a very sexist one. It’s very difficult to reach the point that she has reached, I think it’s good for football and a positive step for football, to show that it’s opening up for everyone.”
“It’s a surprise, you cannot believe it and after two or three minutes, you realize that you are going to the World Cup. It’s amazing, not only for me but also for my family and also for the French referees,” Stephanie Frappart tells CNN Sport.
Stéphanie Frappart the first woman to referee an official match at the FIFA World Cup asked Cristiano Ronaldo for a photo in Portugal's match against Ghana. 📸❤️ pic.twitter.com/TK5B8TKZOV
— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) November 30, 2022
▶ Who is Stephanie Frappart?
Frappart rose through the ranks of football refereeing in her native France. In 2019, she became the first female referee to take charge of a Ligue 1 match, in August 2019 the first to take charge of a major men’s European match, and in 2020, the first to officiate a men’s UEFA Champions League match…
It can be seen that she is really a very remarkable woman. Frappert and her colleagues are the first female officials to take to the field at a men’s World Cup tournament！
🚨 OFFICIEL ! Stéphanie Frappart arbitrera le match entre le Costa Rica et l'Allemagne. 🇩🇪🇨🇷
— Actu Foot (@ActuFoot_) November 29, 2022
Elle deviendra la première femme à arbitrer un match de Coupe du monde. pic.twitter.com/C1soviRzM6
- I would hope that in the future, the selection of elite women’s match officials for important men’s competitions will be perceived as something normal and no longer as sensational.
- “We are very happy that with Stephanie Frappart from France, Salima Mukansanga from Rwanda, and Yoshimi Yamashita from Japan, as well as assistant referees Neuza Back from Brazil, Karen Díaz Medina from Mexico and Kathryn Nesbitt from the USA, we have been able to call up female match officials for the first time in the history of a FIFA World Cup.”
- “This concludes a long process that began several years ago with the deployment of female referees at FIFA men’s junior and senior tournaments. In this way, we clearly emphasize that it is quality that counts for us and not genders.”