Stephanie Frappart becomes first female referee at men’s World Cup

Stephanie Frappart has become the first female referee to handle a FIFA men’s World Cup game.

The French official wrote her name in the history book after being selected to officiate the proceedings of the Group G match between Germany and Costa Rica at the Qatar 2022 edition.

The match, played on Thursday at the Al Bayt stadium, was also the first with an all-female officiating crew that includes Brazil’s Neuza Back and Karen Diaz Medina of Mexico as assistant referees.

Frappart had made history in the World Cup after she was selected as the fourth official for the goalless draw between Mexico and Poland on November 22.

FIFA had named some female referees on its list of 36 for the tournament.

Frappart made the list alongside Salima Mukansanga of Rwanda and Yoshimi Yamashita.

The French official was also the first female referee to handle a major men’s European match when she officiated the 2019 UEFA Super Cup between Liverpool and Chelsea.

In 2020, she became the first female official to take charge of a men’s Champions League match when Juventus defeated Dynamo Kyiv 3-0 in the group stage in Turin.

A year later, she also became the first female referee to take charge of a men’s World Cup qualifier as the Netherlands beat Latvia 2-0 in Amsterdam.