Who is Frappart, the predestined woman who in Germany-Costa Rica becomes the first female referee in a World Cup

For the first time in history a female referee will referee a match of the finals of the world Cup of football. Is about Stephanie Frappart, who she will referee the match of the last round of group E between Germany and Costa Rica: with her will be the Brazilian Neuza Back and the Mexican Karen Díaz Medina, as line referees; and Kathryn Nesbitt as Fourth Officer.

The French referee, who was very close to officiating the opening game of the tournament according to well-informed sources, arrived in Qatar after a long journey and will be the star of a historic event. Her passion for refereeing started at the age of 13 and before becoming a referee, she also had a short stint as a football player at AS Herblay. So he started his career and little by little he gained recognition until he made the big leap into the professional leagues.

This season we had already seen her in charge of Real Madrid-Celtic at the Bernabéu stadium, in the group stage of the Champions League, but the 38-year-old player still had a long way to go before reaching the World Cup: from Ligue 2 in 2015 to his debut in Ligue 1 in April 2019 so far, an incredible journey.

Stephanie Frappart first referee in the Champions League, European Championship and World Cup

Frappart is already a universal reference for women in the field of refereeing: over the years it has been she who has broken a series of taboos, becoming the first woman to referee first at national level, then in the Champions League and finally to join the the team chosen for the 2021 UEFA European Championship. It was the first to take charge of a French championship game, Amiens v Strasbourg in 2019, and has extensive experience in UEFA competitions: in 2019, it refereed the European Super Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea and in the Champions League debuted in December 2020 directing the match between Juventus and Dinamo Kiev.

The French race director, born in Val-d’Oise north of Paris, he refereed several matches at the last two Olympics and last season refereed the Barcelona-Real Madrid match in the women’s Champions League quarter-finals. A truly enviable resume.

She has been a FIFA international referee since 2009 and immediately earned the respect of peers and players alike from her inception, so much so that some considered her “the best in the league, has a calm but severe voice and great charisma”.

For the first time in the history of the World Cup, three referees and three linesmen were selected, in addition to Stephanie Frappart, the Rwandan Salima Mukansanga and the Japanese Yoshimi Yamashita; and now the FIFA Referees Committee has finally decided to entrust the conduct of a match to a women’s quadruple. Very proud of this achievement the head of the FIFA referees, Pierluigi Colinawho expects female referees to enter the most important competitions as a norm and no longer as something exceptional.