STEPHANIE FRAPPART A GIANT LEAP FOR WOMANKIND ON A FOOTBALL PITCH

The French referee was quite the star of the Germany-Costa Rica game

When the diminutive and frail-looking Stephanie Frappart stood next to tall goalkeeper Manuel Neuer — the German football skipper — for a FIFA World Cup match on December 1, 2022, it was a sight never seen on a football pitch of this magnitude.

Standing just 1.64m (5'3") tall, Stephanie was dwarfed by Neuer — who is 1.93m or 6'3" in height — when the pre-match picture was snapped. Stephanie may have looked small but she emerged a giant as she became the first woman to officiate in a FIFA World Cup men’s match.

The 38-year-old Frappart was joined by Neuza Back of Brazil and Karen Diaz of Mexico as an all-female group took charge of Germany's match against Costa Rica. Germany won 4-2 but it was Stephanie who won hearts tackling a FIFA World Cup match in men's football. A week earlier she was the fourth official during the Poland vs Mexico clash at Stadium 974.

Stephanie took charge of two matches in the qualifiers for the tournament, but her presence at the World Cup itself is a significant moment. The Frenchwoman was the fourth official in the 0-0 draw between Mexico and Poland on the opening matchday in Group C, becoming the first woman to occupy the role at a men’s FIFA World Cup.

Stephanie is no stranger to the biggest stage in the game, having officiated in six matches at the last two FIFA Women’s World Cup™ competitions –Canada 2015 and France 2019.

When asked about her pride at representing France as a FIFA World Cup referee, Stephanie said: "I felt enormous emotion because it wasn’t particularly expected that I would be picked. So, (I feel) a lot of pride, a lot of honour, to represent France at the World Cup."

On keeping emotions in check to ensure optimal performance on the pitch, Stephanie said before the encounter: "I think I’ll have everything that’s around me in mind, and the aim will still be the same, that is the referee according to the performance on the pitch. So, I’m really going to head into this with enormous emotion, but you have to channel that because clearly the important thing is the pitch."

Stephanie continued: "The first thing will be all the emotions of returning to the World Cup stadium, packed with a large crowd and plenty of expectations. But after that, I’ll be focused on the pitch because we need to make the correct decisions and perform well by concentrating on the primary objective on the pitch."

When asked how she prepared for a big game like the Germany-Costa Rica clash, Stephanie said: "You obviously know that there'll be more of a spotlight on the game, and you’ll feel a bit of pressure due to the high stakes involved. But it’s still a football match, and it’s part of a competition that I’ve spent a long time preparing for. You don’t leave anything to chance – you constantly work on technical and tactical aspects so that you’re ready for this type of encounter."

Stephanie said no game was easy to officiate: "Each team has a style of play, their own tactics, and players with different attributes – that’s what makes a World Cup like this one so great. You prepare for that; that’s what you expect. Prior to the semi-finals, two coaches came to us to explain how the teams were set up and how they played. “The goal of this was to enable us to adapt to them better and to be in the right place at the right time, so that we can make the best possible decision when we referee a match involving such-and-such a team."

Costa Rica manager Luis Fernando Suarez, 62, said: "I am a great admirer of everything women have conquered and I like the fact they want to keep on conquering things. This is another step forward. This speaks volumes for this woman, of her commitment, especially in this sport which is a very sexist one. It's very difficult to reach the point that she has reached, I think it's good for football and a positive step for football, to show that it's opening up for everyone.”

Costa Rica's midfielder Celso Borges, appearing in his third World Cup, said: "I think it's great and it's a huge achievement for women globally. If she is there it's because she has all the capabilities to perform on this stage. She had done it before in big matches so I didn't see why it would have been an exception. I just hoped she had a good match and that we could help her make it an easy match."

Germany manager Hansi Flick told reporters prior to his team's match against Costa Rica: "She deserves to be here based on her performance. I hope she is equally looking forward to the game just like we are, and I hope she can deliver a good performance."

Germany defender Lukas Klostermann wanted more of the same in future World Cup matches: "This is the most normal thing in the game. I have never looked prior to the game if it is a man or a woman that will be with the whistle, and I hope it will remain a normality." Neither did Frappert or her colleagues, who all made it count.

Pierluigi Collina, the FIFA chief of referees committee, said. “FIFA will continue to champion the development of female refereeing and I’m confident that the appointment of female match officials to men’s games will be absolutely commonplace in the future.” Last year, Stephanie emerged as the top football personality in French football, edging Kylian Mbappe to the top spot in a list of 50 that also included Didier Deschamps, Zinedine Zidane, Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud and Karim Benzema. n