Mueez Ajao
– Female referees will officiate matches at this year’s men’s World Cup for the first time in the tournament’s history.
– France’s Stephanie Frappart, Rwanda’s Salima Mukansanga and Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita have been selected to take charge of games in Qatar.
– They will be supported by three female assistant referees.
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– Premier League referees Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor have also been chosen for the tournament, which begins on Monday, 21 November.
– Taylor refereed the Euro 2020 match between Denmark and Finland, and was praised for reacting quickly to ensure Christian Eriksen received urgent medical attention after collapsing on the field.
– In total, 36 referees, 69 assistant referees and 24 video match officials have been chosen for this year’s tournament.
– “As always, the criteria we have used is ‘quality first’ and the selected match officials represent the highest level of refereeing worldwide,” said the chairman of Fifa’s referees committee Pierluigi Collina.
– “This concludes a long process that began several years ago with the deployment of female referees at Fifa men’s junior and senior tournaments.
– “In this way, we clearly emphasise it is quality that counts for us and not gender.
– “I would hope that in the future, the selection of elite women’s match officials for important men’s competitions will be perceived as something normal and no longer as sensational.”
