Women refereeing at the men’s World Cup for the first time “opened up possibilities” that must be capitalised on, according to Yoshimi Yamashita, who was one of three women named to the list of 36 referees for the tournament. She did not referee a match but served as the fourth official for six first-round games.
Stephanie Frappart of France made history as the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup match when she officiated the match between Germany and Costa Rica in Group E.
She was part of an all-female refereeing team for the match, which included assistants Neuza Back of Brazil and Karen Diaz Medina of Mexico.
Yamashita said the tournament was a watershed moment for football and urged officials not to waste it.
“These are things that should be built on in the future — I want to see them being built on. If it just ends like this now, it will have no meaning. I want to play my part in helping to make sure it continues in the future.”
The 36-year-old added said she was “happy from the bottom of my heart” that Frappart was chosen to officiate Germany’s game against Costa Rica.
“It really opened up possibilities and I could see that happening right in front of me.”
Yamashita was the first woman to officiate an Asian Champions League match this year, and she has also officiated in Japan’s top flight, the J-League. She said officiating at the World Cup reminded her “how amazing football is”.
On November 23, Yoshimi Yamashita became the first Japanese female referee to work in a FIFA World Cup match. Yamashita served as the fourth official at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, alongside referee Janny Sikazwe and assistant referees Jerson Dos Santos and Arsenio Maringule. In Al Rayyan, Qatar, Belgium won 1-0.
