World number one, Stéphanie Frappart will referee Thursday’s Group E match between Germany and Costa Rica, FIFA announced Tuesday, becoming the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup match.
France’s Frappart was one of three of 36 referees selected for the tournament in Qatar, the others being Rwandan official Salima Mukansanga and Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita.
Three other female referees participated in the World Cup as assistant referees. For Frappart, 38, refereeing the men’s World Cup matches is the final step on the road to Europe’s top leagues.
In 2019, she became the first woman in France to referee a Ligue 1 match, the same year she took charge of the Women’s World Cup final in her home country.
Before refereeing the 2020 UEFA Champions League and last season’s French Cup final, Frappart also officiated the 2019 UEFA Super Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea.