Meriam Jelliti
Doha
With six women referees in business at the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022, many believe that the 22nd edition of the greatest football show in Qatar has achieved a significant and society changing step.
Three female referees out of 36 main referees are part of the 2022 World Cup, besides the three women who are assistant referees and among the “VAR” teams. These women had not participated in the management of such a major championships before, but their great career in their countries, especially their professional foreign participation made “FIFA” choose them to officiate matches at the World Cup.
French referee, Stephanie Frappart, was the first of the three present as a fourth referee on the refereeing team for the Mexico match against Poland, making her the first female member of the refereeing team in the 2022 World Cup matches, thus achieving a historic first.
The French referee has appeared in 13 matches since the start of the last season between the French League and the European Championships. Frappart has shown 53 yellow cards during the 13 matches, in addition to two red cards.
It is noteworthy that Frappart became a referee in the French first division, and thus she refereed European matches, since 2019.
She entered the history of football, after obtaining the international badge in 2009. She is classified as the most prominent referee in football at the present time, to enter history again, after being selected to arbitrate in the Qatar World Cup.
Frapart took charge of the Women’s European Cup semi-final match in 2017 between the host Netherlands and England, in addition to the 2012 European Under-19 Championship final in Turkey. And in 2019 she became the first woman to lead a men’s match in the French first league, during a match between Amiens and Strasbourg. Stephanie in 2019 was also appointed by the European Football Association (UEFA) to manage the UEFA Super Cup match between Liverpool and Chelsea in Istanbul, Turkey.
Referee Yoshimi Yamashita is the first professional referee from Japan to have been among the match officials for the 2019 Women’s World Cup. She had scored an achievement in her career with arbitration, after she became the first referee to run a match in the Japanese Premier League for men’s soccer.
Salima Mukansanga, one of three women referees selected to officiate the FIFA World Cup to be hosted by Qatar, is also the first African woman to officiate at a men’s football event. She is a FIFA registered international referee since 2012, and was responsible for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.
In 2022, she became the first woman to referee the African Cup of Nations, and led a team consisting of Fatiha Jarmoumi from Morocco, Karen Atemzapong from cameroon, and Bouchra Karboubi from Morocco as a referee. She also managed several matches in the Olympics, the Women’s World Cup, and the AFCON for women, and the CAF Champions League for women.
Women athletes face great difficulties in terms of number and participation in international events and tournaments, but in the Arab region, social, cultural and religious obstacles stand in the way of many who try to progress and excel in sports and confront but and social discrimination.
Qatar as a host nation has therefore contributed a great deal in supporting women in sport with the inclusion of women referees at FIFA World Cup 2022.
