Petra TabarelliSome good news from #Qatar2022: Today, for the very first time, women referees will officiate at a men's World Cup: Stéphanie Frappart and Neuza Back since 5pm CET for #MEXPOL and Salima Mukansanga and Kateryn Nesbitt at 8pm CET for #FRAAUS. More about them: ...
ℹ️ Different from the last European Championship: With every nomination there is some info or links or something similar about the women. Let's see if FIFA uses it often enough for me to get all the info and links collected under. #Qatar2022
More about Yoshimi Yamashita from Japan and Karen Díaz Medina from Mexico in the coming days. Or already now my article for
@Law5_TheRef
⤵️ (CN: Misogyny and mansplaining in the comments column).
https://law5-theref.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-border-is-crumbling-presentation-of.html?m=1 #Qatar2022
@Law5_TheRef
⤵️ (CN: Misogyny and mansplaining in the comments column).
https://law5-theref.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-border-is-crumbling-presentation-of.html?m=1 #Qatar2022
Stéphanie Frappart used to be a football player for several years. At the age of 14, she also took her referee's licence. Then, in 2003, she decided to officiate exclusively as a referee in the future.
➡️ Since 5pm CET, #MEXPOL: 4th Official #Qatar2022
➡️ Since 5pm CET, #MEXPOL: 4th Official #Qatar2022
Football player Pierre Bouby said about Stéphanie Frappart in 2019: "She has charisma and personality, but she's not someone who wants to show off. She's there to hold her game. She is a serious referee and fair in her decisions. She is objective. She is also a diplomat and good at dialogue. She uses the right words, she takes the time to explain. She is never in conflict. She never looks down on the players. There is a mutual respect between us." https://www.tf1info.fr/amp/sport/interview-stephanie-frappart-premiere-arbitre-de-ligue-1-vue-par-pierre-bouby-un-joueur-de-ligue-2-elle-n-est-jamais-dans-le-conflit-2119430.html
Stéphanie Frappart, première arbitre de Ligue 1 : "Elle est sérieuse et juste dans ses décisions"
PIONNIÈRE - Retenue pour la Coupe du monde cet été en France, Stéphanie Frappart va devenir la première femme à diriger une rencontre de Ligue 1, dimanche lors de la rencontre Amiens-Strasbourg. Le milieu de terrain de l'US Orléans, Pierre Bouby, qui la côtoie régulièrement sur les terrains de Ligue 2, livre à LCI son regard sur l'arbitre internationale.
Stéphanie Frappart has been the frequent first: in the French men's football leagues, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Nations League, UEFA Champions League, EURO (as 4th official), FIFA World Cup qualifier ... and now at the World Cup itself. Félicitations, Madame Frappart ! #Qatar2022
Neuza Back from Brazil is a full-time assistant referee. Like Frappart, she completed her refereeing training at the age of 14, but has been officiating matches in the Brazilian Serie A since 2009.
➡️ since 5pm CET, #MEXPOL: Reserve Assistant Referee #Qatar2022
➡️ since 5pm CET, #MEXPOL: Reserve Assistant Referee #Qatar2022
Neuza Back has been an assistant at a men's FIFA tournament in Qatar before - then as one of the first women at the Club World Cup in January 2021. Her colleagues then were Edina Alves Batista (BRA) and Mariana de Almeida (ARG). #Qatar2022
Neuza Back did her referee training in the late 1990s (1998 or 1999). That worked out very well. What didn't work out so well was the search for black football boots, because they were only available in sizes 39 and up. Back, however, has 37 - and so she painted her shoes black. #Qatar2022
In just about ten years, Neuza Back made it to the highest league in Brazilian men's football. Maybe also because three women went first in Brazil's football (soccer) stakes back in 2003 (https://www.ocuriosodofutebol.com.br/2020/06/em-2003-o-primeiro-jogo-do-brasileirao.html). #Qatar2022
In the run-up to the World Cup, an interview with Neuza Back was published in Brazilian, which I would like to link here. Most browsers allow you to translate the interview into the language you understand: https://veja.abril.com.br/esporte/o-feito-historico-da-bandeirinha-catarinense-neuza-back-na-copa-do-mundo/ #Qatar2022
Neuza Back said in an interview ahead of the World Cup (translated into English): „It's an honour to have been chosen as an assistant," she told VEJA. "But it is also an immense responsibility, with the eyes of the world watching us." (Source: https://veja.abril.com.br/esporte/o-feito-historico-da-bandeirinha-catarinense-neuza-back-na-copa-do-mundo/)
Born in 1984, Neuza Back played football herself in her youth. Edina Alves Batista, with whom she participated in the Men's Club World Cup in February 2021 as an all-female team, once said about her “She is the best assistant referee in the world, with an unbelievable hit rate. And to top it off she speaks and studies English and German."
(Source: https://veja.abril.com.br/esporte/o-feito-historico-da-bandeirinha-catarinense-neuza-back-na-copa-do-mundo/ )
(Source: https://veja.abril.com.br/esporte/o-feito-historico-da-bandeirinha-catarinense-neuza-back-na-copa-do-mundo/ )
Salima Mukansanga from Rwanda: I interviewed her in the run-up to the World Cup. In it, she said: "[In Rwanda, football] is a male-dominated field. People did not accept what we did. They were reluctant to say, 'She is doing well'."
➡️ 8pm CET, #FRAAUS: 4th Official #Qatar2022
➡️ 8pm CET, #FRAAUS: 4th Official #Qatar2022
Salima Mukansanga has been a FIFA referee for ten years, but has not been a professional referee for long. She studied nursing and obstetrics. In her youth, she not only played football, but was also very good at basketball. #Qatar2022
I asked Salima Mukansanga in my interview about her profession nowadays: „I have been putting all my effort into refereeing these days. Right now, it’s only professional refereeing, with daily training, matches, analysis of videos and watching the games.“ #Qatar2022
Kateryn Nesbitt from the USA has given up her assistant professorship in chemistry in 2019 to become a full-time assistant referee. She was already voted the best assistant referee in the MLS in 2020.
➡️ 8pm, #FRAAUS: Reserve Assistant Referee #Qatar2022
➡️ 8pm, #FRAAUS: Reserve Assistant Referee #Qatar2022
Katheryn Nesbitt has been an assistant referee in the MLS, the top men's league in the USA, since 2015. She wasn't one of the first here, but she was in the run-up to the World Cup: she is one of the women who officiated World Cup qualifiers. #Qatar2022
Katheryn Nesbitt moved from research to football in 2019 with an eye on the 2026 World Cup (including in the USA. "I wanted to see if I could do that. I realised then that to even try to do that, I would have to put all my time and effort into a job." Now, three years later, she is already one of the first at the 2022 World Cup.
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/14/world-cup-female-referee-kathryn-nesbitt/) #Qatar2022
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/14/world-cup-female-referee-kathryn-nesbitt/) #Qatar2022
Kathryn Nesbitt learned of her nomination for the World Cup through Twitter. And then? „I just got jaw-dropped, stared at it, couldn’t even believe that this was happening. Then I probably jumped around the room for the next 20 minutes.“ (Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/14/world-cup-female-referee-kathryn-nesbitt/) #Qatar2022
Kathryn Nesbitt in an interview: „If a mistake is made, there will be more attention on it. The thought process has always been you can’t mess up, which is kind of a scary thing to say. We are human, and we’re going to make mistakes. But the women that have come this far have been dealing with that pressure for years. We’re all very experienced with what that feels like and are ready for the challenge.” (Source: https://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/story/2022-11-14/women-officials-world-cup-2022)
About Kathryn Nesbitt, Mark Geiger, a former referee colleague, said: „She not only can analyze what the correct decision should be, but she also knows from a feeling aspect what the best decision for the game would be. And they’re not always the same." (Mark Geiger)
(Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/14/world-cup-female-referee-kathryn-nesbitt/)
(Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/14/world-cup-female-referee-kathryn-nesbitt/)
[…] "Sometimes you need to really feel the game and know what the best decision is at that particular moment and what’s going to help the referee group maintain control of the game. She understands that.“ 🥇 (Mark Geiger about Kathryn Nesbitt) (https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/14/world-cup-female-referee-kathryn-nesbitt/)
☑️ A Woman in the Final of the Men's World Cup in Football.
And remember?
Kathryn Nesbitt was a chemistry professor until 2019, when she quit her job to pursue her dream of competing in the 2026 Men's World Cup in her country, the USA.
And now she is not only participating one Men's World Cup earlier, but also in the World Cup final.
Karen Díaz Medina was one of the first three women to referee matches in Liga MX. She only became a FIFA assistant referee afterwards. They were all three used on the first matchday of the 2016/17 season. (https://www.efdn.org/blog/news/female-referees-to-make-history-in-mexican-professional-football/)
Female referees to make history in Mexican professional football - European Football for Development Network
In 2016 Mexico’s Torneo de Apertura will kick-off with the debut of three female referees,who will make history and become the first women toofficiate in the country’s men’s top tier league. The Torneo de Apertura is the first of two short tournaments that make up the country’s top league Liga Mx, Apertura (Opening) and Clausura Read more
Karen Díaz Medina from Mexico worked in the coffee shop of a sports centre when the referee didn't turn up for a football match. She stood in for him, liked it so much and did the referee training to earn some money. #Qatar2022
Karen Díaz Medina: „When I was a little girl, I used to play football & my classmates would say, ‘Ay, you play like a man’. And now those characteristics that hurt me, those words that hurt me in that moment, now those are the skills that have helped me achieve my dreams. [...]" (Source: https://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/story/2022-11-14/women-officials-world-cup-2022) #Qatar2022 @fussball
Karen Díaz Medina: "[...] You never know what skills are hidden, so appreciate them. If you want to be a professional football official, follow your own path, accept it and fight with all your passion to achieve perfection and you will enjoy what you are doing.“ (Source: https://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/story/2022-11-14/women-officials-world-cup-2022) #Qatar2022
Yoshimi Yamashita from Japan was the first female referee at the AFC Cup (2019), but at the same time she has not yet refereed in professional Japanese men's football. Only a few weeks ago, in September 2022, she was promoted for the J1 League. #Qatar2022
Yoshimi Yamashita's international career has always preceded her domestic one. Not only in the aforementioned AFC Cup (~ Europa League). In 2022/23 she was nominated for the J League 2, shortly after for the Men's World Cup. She will be promoted to J League 1 before the end of the season. #Qatar2022
Yoshimi Yamashita worked as a sports teacher and first came into contact with refereeing at college (around 2005). There she met the Japanese assistant referee Makoto Bozono. A few years later, they made history together. #Qatar2022
So, Yoshimi Yamashita came to refereeing through Makoto Bozono. But she had no idea then that they would both make history a few years later. But that's how it happened: Both were among the first women and the first all-female team at the AFC Cup on 14 May 2019. #Qatar2022 @fussball
From a European perspective, Yoshimi Yamashita’s refereeing career is astonishing, because the AFC Cup is comparable to the UEFA Europa League and she only joined the Japanese 3rd Division for the 2021/22 season. And a year later in the J 2. And half a year later in a men's World Cup.
So: Europa League, but still in the fourth division? World Cup nomination while just being nominated to the second division? Japan may have had a hard time with female referees in men's football. #Qatar2022
So: Europa League, but still in the fourth division? World Cup nomination while just being nominated to the second division? Japan may have had a hard time with female referees in men's football. #Qatar2022