For the first time the women’s refereeing team at the World Cup
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An all-female refereeing team will take charge of a men’s World Cup match for the first time in Thursday’s group stage match between Costa Rica and Germany.
Stephanie Frappart will be the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup.
The Frenchwoman became the tournament’s first female official when she was named fourth official for the Mexico-Poland match last Tuesday.
“We know the pressure,” Frappart told BBC Sport ahead of the tournament.
“But I think we’re not going to change ourselves. Stay calm, stay focused, stay focused, and don’t think too much about the media and everything, just focus on the field.”
Frappart will be joined by Brazil’s Neuza Back and Mexico’s Karen Diaz Medina at the Al Bayt Stadium on Thursday.
Asked if she ever gets comments from players, coaches or fans about being a woman, Frappart said: “Since I started, I’ve always been supported by the teams, the clubs and the players. I’ve always been welcomed into the ‘stadium and I feel like a referee more inside. the pitch. I’ve always been welcomed, so I think I’ll be welcomed like before.”
She became the first woman to referee a Men’s Champions League match in 2020.
The 38-year-old was also the first woman to take charge of a match in a major Uefa men’s competition when Liverpool and Chelsea faced each other in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup.
Three women – Frappart, Rwandan Salima Mukansanga and Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita – are among the 36 authorities selected to take charge of matches in Qatar.
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