FOR the first time ever a female official has been selected for a men’s World Cup.
France’s Stephanie Frappart has been selected as a group of female match referees and will make history in Qatar – a country that suppresses women’s rights.
The Frenchwoman acted as a
Frappart also made history in December 2022 by becoming the first female to referee a men’s Champions League game.
She officiated the Group G clash between Juventus and Dynamo Kiev in Turin.
The 37-year-old was also in the middle for the 2019 Super Cup between Chelsea and Liverpool, as well as the women’s World Cup final in the same year.
In October 2020 Frappart refereed her first Europa League game – overseeing Leicester’s game with Zorya Luhansk.
Frappart has reffed sixteen times this season in the French Ligue 1, showing 62 yellows at an average of 3.88 per game.
She has sent off just one player in the league this season.
After officiating the 2019 Super Cup between Chelsea and Liverpool Frappart told CNN:
“It was a pretty special feeling when you walked out in the stadium and the crowd were actually cheering for us, I’ve never experienced that and in such a big, big match.
“In the warm-up I looked around and I was like, the other teams aren’t here so they have to be cheering for us.”
“When you looked up at the crowd, I normally don’t engage with the crowd, they were looking at us and a few were waving and giving us thumbs up and congratulations. I thought that was pretty special.”
