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Stéphanie Frappart makes history as first woman to referee a men’s World Cup match

France’s Stephanie Frappart will become the first woman to referee a match at the men’s World Cup after being selected to take charge of Thursday’s clash between Germany and Costa Rica, Sky Sports reports.

The 38-year-old will lead an all-female on-field team for the Group E match at Al Bayt Stadium, with Brazil’s Neuza Back and Mexican Karen Diaz Medina chosen as her assistants.

Frappart has already made history at the tournament, having become the first female official for a men’s World Cup match when she was fourth official for the goalless draw between Mexico and Poland last Tuesday.

FIFA named three female referees on its list of 36 for the competition, with Rwanda’s Salima Mukansanga and Yoshimi Yamashita of Japan also in Qatar.

The French official has already written her name into the history books. In March 2021, she became the first female referee to take charge of a men’s World Cup Qualifier as the Netherlands beat Latvia 2-0 in Amsterdam.

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

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