When a referee generates column inches, it is normally some indictment of their performance; the result of an uproar after a controversial decision.
But Stéphanie Frappart’s traditional anonymity has been broken for a different reason – she will make history on Thursday as the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup match.
Alongside assistants Neuza Back from Brazil and Karen Diaz from Mexico, the Frenchwoman will form part of an all-female refereeing trio officiating Costa Rica vs. Germany in their Group E match.
Six female match officials have been officiating at this World Cup – referees Frappart, Rwanda’s Salima Mukansanga and Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita as well as assistant referees Back, Diaz and Kathryn Nesbitt of the US.
FIFA announced their appointment back in May, when Frappart found out that she was going to the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
“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,” she tells CNN Sport.
Throughout her career, Frappart has achieved a seemingly endless series of firsts.
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.
“I knew that my life changed after 2019 because most people recognized me in the street,” Frappart recalls.
“So I am like a role model, for women referees but I think it [also] inspired some women in society or in companies to take more and more responsibility.”
Already at this World Cup, Frappart has been the fourth official on two occasions – becoming the first female official at a men’s World Cup match at Mexico vs. Poland. Mukasanga and Yamashita have also been the fourth official at two and four games of this World Cup respectively.
But there is an obvious tension between these historic moments for gender equality in football and the place in which they are happening as women’s rights are severely restricted in Qatar.
According to Amnesty International, women remain tied to a male guardian in Qatar– usually their father, brother, grandfather, uncle or husband – and require their permission for important decisions such as marrying, accessing reproductive healthcare and working in many government jobs.
CNN has reached out to the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) for comment but at the time of publication had not received a response.
“I was many times in Qatar … for the preparation of the World Cup, I was always welcomed in a good way. I don’t know how life is there but I didn’t make the decision to go there or to organize the World Cup,” Frappart says.
“So now, 10 years later, it’s difficult to say something, but I hope that… this World Cup will improve life for women there.”
Source: CNN