The reason Klopp enjoyed the Germany-Costa Rica World Cup game

Stephanie Frappart became the first woman to coach a men's World Cup match during the Germany-Costa Rica Group E match at Qatar 2022. The 38-year-old Frenchwoman led the all-female team at the Al Bayt stadium with Brazil's Neuza Back and Mexico's Karen Diaz Medina as assistants. After being the fourth official for the Mexico-Poland Group C match and Portugal-Ghana, Frappart went one step further and was chosen for a crucial Group E qualifier.

The Frenchwoman has extensive experience in both men's and women's refereeing. With six matches refereeing at women's World Cups, she has established herself as one of the best and earned a place in the men's tournaments. Her path began in the second division of French football but after five years she was promoted to Ligue 1 until she earned the chance to be the first woman to control matches in men's European tournaments.

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So it was that Frappart was at the 2019 European Super Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea and earned the praise of German manager Jürgen Klopp. After that performance, he has gone on to make further appearances for European teams in the Nations League, Champions League, FIFA qualifiers and even the final of the French Cup.

The Frenchwoman, who keeps a low profile and does not use social media, told FIFA that she feels "very proud and very honoured" by the historic event in which she is the protagonist. The road to being at one of the most watched sporting events on the planet was not an easy one, as she had to deal with criticism along the way. In 2020, for example, Portuguese coach André Villas Boas, then in charge of Olympique de Marseille, complained that he was not qualified to referee.

Frappart refereed Liverpool's Super Cup triumph in 2019

One of his assistants is the Brazilian Neuza Back, also 38 years old and sister of a referee. He has been involved in the Brazilian championship since 2009 (in 2020 he passed the 100th match) and after five years he earned the FIFA international label. Before Qatar 2022 he was at the Club World Cup, at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and his debut in the men's Copa Libertadores took place in the stadium of Defensa y Justicia in a match against Independiente del Valle in 2021.