History was made on Thursday when the first all-female officiating team took the field to referee a men’s World Cup match.
The team, consisting of Stephanie Frappart, Neuza Back, and Karen Diaz, refereed the match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Dec. 1. In May of 2022, FIFA announced that this year’s world cup would be the first to feature female referees. The company’s media release said that they were “very happy” and that the inclusion of the referees “concludes a long process that began several years ago with the deployment of female referees at FIFA men’s junior and senior tournaments.”
Stephanie Frappart of France made history of her own as the first female referee to participate in a World Cup match last week in the Mexico vs. Poland match.
Frappart, along with Back and Diaz, were the only three female referees to be included in the 36 referees throughout the tournament.
“They deserve to be at the FIFA World Cup because they constantly perform at a really high level, and that’s the important factor for us,” said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA Referees Committee’s chairman.
FIFA’s media release said that the pandemic provided ample time for the referees to prepare for their tournament role adequately. The selected match officials were required to participate in summer seminars, where they were provided “real-match” situations that allowed for feedback from referee instructors.
Despite Germany’s win, they were unable to advance to the knockout stage of the tournament. Costa Rica also did not advance due to their goal deficit. Within Group E, Japan, and Spain are advancing to the knockout stage.
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