Stephanie Frappart to Become First Female Referee in Champions League History

UEFA has appointed Stephanie Frappart as referee for this week’s Champions League clash between Juventus and Dynamo Kyiv, making her the first ever woman to officiate in the men’s competition.

Frappart is the world’s leading female official and has already been the first woman in charge of a major UEFA men’s match when she was appointed to referee the 2019 UEFA Super Cup between Chelsea and Liverpool in Istanbul.

So far this season, the Frenchwoman has refereed two Europa League group stage games between Leicester and Zorya Luhansk, and Granada and Omonia.

Frappart refereed the 2019 Women’s World Cup final in her native France when the United States took on the Netherlands. That year, the 36-year-old from suburban Paris was also the first female referee in Ligue 1 history when she took charge of a game between Amiens and Strasbourg.

Towards the end of 2019, Frappart was additionally asked to referee Ireland’s inaugural Champions Cup between Republic champions Dundalk and Northern champions Linfield.

Frappart will be joined on the pitch in Turin this week by assistants Hicham Zakrani and Mehdi Rahmouni, while Karim Abed is down as the fourth official.

Switzerland’s Nicole Petignat has previously been a trailblazer for female officials in European competition, having taken charge of UEFA Cup qualifying games between 2004 and 2009.

German official Bibiana Steinhaus was later the first woman to referee a game in one of Europe’s top five leagues when she made her Bundesliga debut in 2017.

Roberto Rossetti, UEFA’s chief refereeing officer, said last year of Frappart’s appointment for the UEFA Super Cup that she will inspire ‘inspire thousands and thousands of young female referees around the world’.

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