For the first time in football history, a female referee has been appointed to officiate a match in the World Cup, with French referee Stéphanie Frappart set to become the first woman to referee a men's match at the FIFA World Cup. Frappart has been assigned to officiate the match between Germany and Costa Rica scheduled for next Thursday, as part of the last round of matches in Group E in the Qatar World Cup, as announced by FIFA.
Frappart, who was the fourth official in the group stage match between Poland and Mexico last week, will be the main referee, achieving another milestone in her career after becoming the first woman to officiate a men's World Cup qualifying match in March, as well as a match in the UEFA Champions League in 2020.
Frappart, along with Rwandan Salima Mukansanga and Japanese Yoshimi Yamashita, was included in the list of 36 referees selected by FIFA for the Qatar World Cup. The three female center referees, along with assistant referees Brazilian Neuza Back, Mexican Karen Díaz Medina, and American Kathryn Nesbitt, were chosen after proving themselves in men's football.
For Frappart, 38, her selection for the World Cup seems like the next logical step after her rapid rise in top-level refereeing in Europe. She was the first woman to referee a match in French Ligue 1 in 2019, and the same year, she officiated the Women’s World Cup final in her home country.
Frappart has also officiated the UEFA Super Cup final in 2019 between Liverpool and Chelsea, and has led matches in the UEFA Champions League since 2020, as well as the final of the French Cup last season. She was appointed as the fourth official during the Qatar World Cup in the matches between Mexico and Poland, and Portugal and Ghana in the group stage.
