France’s top female referee, Stephanie Frappart, is about to once again blaze a trail for women in the world’s most popular sport.
After becoming the first female to both referee a major men’s UEFA competition match when Liverpool met Chelsea in the 2019 Super Cup in Istanbul and a Europa League group game in October at Leicester City when Zorya Luhansk were the visitors, on Wednesday she becomes the first female to take charge of a men’s Champions League match when Juventus host Dynamo Kiev.
Frappart has been refereeing in French men’s professional soccer since 2011, beginning in the Championnat National (third tier) before graduating to Ligue 2 in 2014.