In 1992, the 'Geumnyeo Wall' Was Broken... Female Referees Appeared in the World Cup Finals

2022 Qatar World Cup Assigns 3 Female Referees and 3 Assistant Referees
First Female Referee to Appear in World Cup at Mexico-Poland Match on 23rd

Stephanie Frappart, the first female referee to appear on the World Cup main stage. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lee Gyehwa] For the first time in the 92-year history of the World Cup, a female referee has appeared. Major foreign media outlets such as the Associated Press reported, "Stephanie Frappart took the role of the fourth official (reserve referee), marking the first female referee to officiate in a World Cup finals match since the tournament began in 1930."

FIFA appointed female referees for the first time in the history of the Qatar World Cup finals. This drew even more attention as it was the first World Cup held in the Middle East, a region known for relatively lower levels of women's rights. A total of six female referees (three main referees and three assistant referees) were named to the Qatar World Cup finals officiating team. In this World Cup, there are 36 main referees, 69 assistant referees, and 24 video assistant referees. Among the 36 main referees selected for the Qatar World Cup, three are women: Stephanie Frappart, Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda), and Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan). Among the 69 assistant referees, there are also three female referees: Neusa Back (Brazil), Karen Diaz (Mexico), and Kathryn Nesbitt (USA).

Stephanie Frappart (39, France) served as the fourth official among the four referees (one main referee, two assistant referees, one fourth official) in the Group C first match between Poland and Mexico held on the 23rd at the Al Bayt Stadium (974) in Doha, Qatar, during the 2022 FIFA World Cup group stage. The fourth official is a referee who stands by outside the field, prepared to step in if the main referee is injured. They also oversee player substitutions while standing between the benches on either side of the halfway line.

Frappart was the first among the six female main and assistant referees to step onto the field. She has already set several firsts. After obtaining her FIFA international referee license in 2009, she advanced to France's third division in 2011 and to Ligue 2 in 2014. In 2019, she became the first female referee in France's Ligue 1. Frappart officiated as the main referee in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup final and made another historic milestone in December 2020 when she was assigned as the main referee for a UEFA Champions League (UCL) group stage match. In March last year, she served as the main referee for the Group G second match between the Netherlands and Latvia in the European qualifiers for the Qatar World Cup. This was the first time a female referee officiated a men's World Cup qualifying match. Frappart was also the first female referee to step onto the field in the World Cup finals.

Pierluigi Collina, FIFA's Head of Referees, stated, "FIFA has completed a long journey toward gender equality by appointing female referees to men's junior and senior tournaments for several years and now selecting female referees for the first time in World Cup history." He added, "Assigning female referees this time recognizes the efforts they have shown so far. We value ability over gender. We hope that appointing female referees in major tournaments will no longer be seen as surprising but rather as a normal practice."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.