With all the big games taking place across Europe as many of the continent's biggest leagues got underway following the international hiatus, one can certainly be forgiven for not noticing a very interesting development taking place in Italy's Serie A.
On Sunday, Sassuolo and Salernitana faced off. Given that both teams are smaller outfits, even calcio followers arguably would not have been as invested in following that match, considering that there were bigger games taking place that weekend.
However, the match between the minnows turned out to be groundbreaking, and not because Sassuolo cruised to a 5-0 win over their opponents.
Rather, it is because for the first time in Serie A history, a woman was in charge as the chief referee during that game.
Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi now has her name in the history books after leading Sassuolo and Salernitana out onto the pitch on Sunday. The 31-year-old has officiated in the men's game, but only in Serie D, C, and B, as well as in the Coppa Italia, and never before in the top flight. She was appointed to officiate the match between Sassuolo and Salernitana on September 28th, and finally got her big moment on Sunday, October, 2nd.
After the match, she was quoted as saying that she had been "dreaming of this moment for 16 years" and thanked the fans for making her historic moment "a very warm welcome".
With this milestone now having been achieved, it will be very interesting to see if more matches in Italy have female officials in charge going forward.
