Stephanie Frappart is set to officially become the first female referee to oversee a match in the FIFA World Cup for men. The 38-year-old will reportedly take charge of the Group D clash between Germany and Costa Rica and will become the first woman to officiate a men's World Cup game in the competition's 92-year history.
Back in May, Frappart became one of three female referees to be named for the World Cup in Qatar along with Rwanda's Salima Mukansanga and Yoshimi Yamashita of Japan. Up until Tuesday night, the trio had been used as assistant referees in the first and second round of matches.
Having landed on FIFA's International Referee List in 2009, Frappart has experienced a meteoric rise to the top level in European football. After spells in the French lower division, she made history by becoming the first woman to oversee a Ligue 1 match in April 2019. The game was between SC Amiens and RC Strasbourg.
This Thursday, an all-female refereeing trio will take charge of a men's @FIFAWorldCup match for the first time.
— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) November 29, 2022
Stéphanie Frappart will be joined by assistants Neuza Back and Karen Diaz in overseeing @fedefutbolcrc against @DFB_Team.
History in the making! pic.twitter.com/KusT7SOUn9
Prior to that, she was had served as a referee at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada and the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France, where she officiated the final between USA and the Netherlands. In 2019, she also officiated the 2019 UEFA Super Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea, before refereeing the Champions League in 2020 and then the 2021-2022 French Cup final.
