Who is Stéphanie Frappart, the first woman to referee in a World Cup?

And the day came. What seemed unimaginable today will come true. A woman will be the main judge of a men’s soccer world cup. she will be french Stéphanie Frappart, well supported by the Brazilian Neuza Back and the Mexican Karen Díaz, her assistants. An arbitration shortlist that will remain for history. The three will deliver justice in the match between Costa Rica and Germany for group E in Qatar 2022 this afternoon. A man, the Honduran Said Martínez, will be the fourth official.

Frappart was chosen by FIFA to do justice to the important match, becoming the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup match. Soccer’s highest body included six women among the 129 referees for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

He began his career in the world of arbitration in 2011 and since then has He has managed 317 games so far: 19 so far this season, two in the Europa League and 14 in the French first division. In addition, she has obtained two awards from the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics) as the best referee in the world in 2019 and 2020. Neither more nor less.

Stéphanie Frappart, 38, is considered one of the best referees in the world and is the great pioneer of refereeing in men’s European football, breaking ground in recent years. Her first appearance in this World Cup was in the match between Mexico and Poland as the fourth referee, being the first woman to form part of a refereeing quartet in a men’s World Cup.

In a world full of prejudice and malicious comments, in a sport mistakenly seen as masculine, Frappart has managed to get by and ignore it. “I know that despite everything, every time I enter the field, every time I’m appointed to referee a new match, it’s generally ‘a first’. Now it is part of my luggage and what I take off the pitch. It’s a label I carry with me.”sentenced in the Spanish magazine Marie Claire a few months ago.

His last performance prior to this World Cup was on the last date of the group stage at the Santiago Bernabéu between Real Madrid and Celta, where he whistled three penalties. Speaking to UEFA, Frappart avoided commenting on gender differences in sport: “There are no differences: football is the same. It is the teams that play differently, but it is the same game for men and women. For me, as a referee, it’s the same”.

Latin American refereeing present at the World Cup

Karen Díaz and Neuza Back will be the assistant referees in tomorrow’s game together with Frappart, giving space to Latin American arbitration in Qatar 2022. The first, Mexican by birth, has been part of the referees of Mexican soccer since 2016, she was the first Mexican woman to participate in a LIGA MX final and four years ago she has carried the FIFA logo.

Karen Díaz, 38 years old, has been a member of the Central American Games and in the U-17 and U-20 World Cup pre-games. She made headlines on the fourth day of this World Cup by becoming the first Mexican woman to participate in a World Cup, appearing as a reserve assistant in the match between Morocco and Croatia. Today she will have her official debut in a World Cup event.

For his part, The Brazilian Neuza Back has a degree in Physical Education, but in 2005 he entered the world of refereeing until 2008 when he made his official debut in professional soccer. Years later, in 2014, he became an official FIFA referee.

Her great career led her to direct matches at the Copa América Femenina in Chile in 2018 and the Copa Libertadores Femenina that same year. She was also present at the 2019 Women’s World Cup refereeing the semifinal between the United States and England. At the age of 37, he has been part of the refereeing body of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the Club World Cup. Qatar 2022 is also his first experience in a men’s World Cup.