It is perhaps the biggest testament to the quality of the performance of the French referee Stéphanie Frappart and her assistants, Neuza Back of Brazil and Mexico’s Karen Díaz, that the coverage of such a historic men’s World Cup moment was muted to brief mentions.
In taking charge for Germany’s showdown with Costa Rica in the final round of games in Group E, Frappart became the first woman to officiate in a men’s World Cup and it felt decidedly normal.
Frappart is used to making history: she was the first woman to referee in men’s Ligue 2, then Ligue 1 in France and the first…
