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The Qatar World Cup, which begins on Sunday, will have female
referees officiating at a men's World Cup for the first time.
Rwanda's Salima Mukansanga, Yamashita Yoshimi of Japan and
Frenchwoman Stephanie Frappart along with three female assistant
referees have been selected for the global showpiece event.
"It (presence of female referees) is something new, it's
something that attracts attention, it attracts interest,"
Collina, chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, told
reporters.
"For us, they are referees, they are match officials. This is
the message I gave them. 'You are here not because you are
women, you are here because you are FIFA match officials'.
"All match officials can be appointed for all matches. If there
are restrictions, because there are restrictions, they are
restrictions concerning their role here.
"We have some restrictions due to neutrality, for instance. But
they are here as FIFA World Cup 2022 match officials and they
are ready to officiate any kind of match, depending on their
performances ... depending on our thoughts," he added.
Mukansanga said the female referees have been chosen not simply
based on their gender but because they deserve the chance.
"We are here because we deserve to be here. Back at our
confederation, or back at home it is another level, so this is
the biggest level of football," Mukansanga said.
"So being here means we deserve to be here, it's not a change or
because we are women."
Assistant referee Kathryn Nesbitt of the United States said they
feel welcome.
"We feel like we are one referee team here, no difference man or
woman," she said.
(Writing by Manasi Pathak, Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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