His presence at the World Cup (November 20-December 18) has been assured for several months but Stéphanie Frappart still has doubts. Will she be the first woman to referee a match at a men’s World Cup? The 38-year-old Frenchwoman will find out in a few days because the referees only know their matches 40 to 72 hours in advance. Two other central referees, Salima Mukansanga and Yoshimi Yamashita, are present in Qatar and Stéphanie Frappart could be doubled.
But history will remember this all the same: alongside Mukansanga and Yamashita, and the three other assistant referees (Karen Diaz Medina, Neuza Back and Kathryn Nesbitt), Stéphanie Frappart was one of the first women selected to officiate during a Men’s World Cup. One more step in the career of the Frenchwoman, which thus confirms her status as a pioneer in women’s refereeing.
First female referee to officiate in Ligue 2 (2014), Ligue 1 (2019), UEFA Super Cup (2019), Champions League (2020), Europa League (2020) and at an international match men with the League of Nations (2020), Stéphanie Frappart has always been ahead. But despite this journey, and despite the final of the Women’s World Cup led in 2019, she did not plan to be present in Qatar: “I had not made it my primary objective to be at the World Cup. It was a surprise and I am very honored to participate.“Like the 36 field referees, the 69 assistants and the 24 in charge of VAR, the Frenchwoman joined Doha on November 9.
When she started refereeing in 1996, at the age of 13, managing children’s matches, this outcome seemed unimaginable. A female referee in the center during a men’s game, football is not ready for it yet. But the young Frappart, who learned the trade on the lawns of Île-de-France, cultivated her dream by observing Corinne Lagrange, Ghislaine Perron-Labbé and Nelly Viennot.
The three manage to reach Ligue 1, but as assistant referees. “Our journeys had interested and inspired her. But she wanted to do better by being central referee. She had ambitions, remembers Nelly Viennot, who met Stéphanie Frappart during a women’s internship at the French Football Federation (FFF) about fifteen years ago. Slowly, in the midst of many sexist remarks from a masculinist environment, the referee climbs the ladder.
Stéphanie Frappart and Clément Turpin have been appointed by the FIFA Referees Committee to officiate at the 2022 World Cup https://t.co/wpnskwWSTV
—FFF (@FFF) May 19, 2022
Until reaching consecration, with a first refereed match in Ligue 1 on April 28, 2019, between Amiens and Strasbourg. “She succeeded because she is determined. She is a great hard worker, who has worked a lot physicallyassures Nelly Viennot. She also worked a lot on her English, which was precarious at the beginning.” By dint of effort and practice, Stéphanie Frappart passed the physical and theoretical tests, prerequisites for refereeing at the highest level.
But to impose herself and stay there, the young referee, of a discreet nature, also had to work on her communication. “Stephanie doesn’t have the physical build of a man, but she does have stature. And then she is very open, very human. This stature and character allow him to communicate more easily with players“, analyzes Nelly Viennot.
From now on, the native of Plessis-Bouchard (Val d’Oise), who has 174 refereed men’s professional matches, often officiates on shocks in the championship. But it remains a hiding place for women’s refereeing in men’s competitions in France. Because behind her, no other woman is playing in Ligue 1 or Ligue 2. She almost naturally has a role, that of pulling the referee up. “I am not the spokesperson for feminism. I don’t want to be stigmatized in relation to a genre but in relation to what I do on the ground“, she retorts.
To questions about Qatar, she replies that she “always well received” and “it is a strong sign from FIFA to put women referees in this country“. Stéphanie Frappart claims more of a discreet role, that of role model by example.”They say that sport is not politicized, but I know that we play a role. If our presence can make things happen, that’s fine.“
By reaching the highest level in France and on the international scene, Stéphanie Frappart has helped to move the lines. “That Stéphanie is where she is and that women are refereeing a World Cup is exceptional“says Cyril Gringore, assistant referee who will play his last competition in Qatar, and who has seen female referees gradually arrive in men’s football.
“It’s a change that shook people’s consciences at the start. But it’s now anchored and that’s good“, rejoices Benoît Millot, who will be at the VAR during the World Cup. Change is not only taking place in France. Abroad too, Frappart inspires and creates vocations. “I was at a U17 tournament in Latvia recently and I met young referees whose idol was Stephanie. All these young girls want to be the future Stéphanie Frappart“, rejoices Nelly Viennot.
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She may be sent to a World Cup, a competition for which she has been preparing for several months with a physical trainer, Stéphanie Frappart does not forget to get involved at the federal level. La Francilienne participates in visios, as with the female referees of the Grand Est last year, is involved in the female section of the arbitration of the FFF and distills her advice during internships.
When approaching the World Cup, Stéphanie Frappart does not yet know how many matches she will referee. In 2018, his colleague Clément Turpin, also present in Qatar, officiated at three meetings. When asked what a successful World Cup would be for her, the Frenchwoman answers bluntly: “It would be a World Cup where we don’t talk about refereeing. Or if we talk about it in a positive way.” As if to evoke, for example, the premiere of Stéphanie Frappart, Salima Mukansanga or Yoshimi Yamashita, at the whistle of a World Cup match.