3 female referees appointed for first time to officiate World Cup matches

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

ANKARA (AA) - The FIFA Referees Committee announced Thursday that three female referees were selected for the first time as match officials at the men’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Stephanie Frappart from France, Salima Mukansanga of Rwanda, and Yoshimi Yamashita from Japan were named to officiate the men’s edition.

Separately, Neuza Back of Brazil, Karen Diaz Medina from Mexico, and Kathryn Nesbitt of the US were named assistant referees in a published officials list.

"As always, the criteria we have used is ‘quality first’ and the selected match officials represent the highest level of refereeing worldwide," said the committee chairman and former Italian referee Pierluigi Collina.

The World Cup will be held from Nov. 21 to Dec. 18 with 32 teams in eight groups.