Trio of women named in 36-strong list of referees for 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar

Aged 38, Frenchwoman Stéphanie Frappart is an experienced international referee 

A TOTAL of  36 referees, 69 assistant referees and 24 video match officials have been announced for the 2022 World Cup.

They have been chosen based on their  performances both in  FIFA international tournaments and other international and domestic competitions as far back as 2019. 

"They represent the highest level of refereeing worldwide," says the chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, Pierluigi Collina. 

"The 2018 World Cup was very successful, largely because of the high standard of refereeing, and we will do our best to be even better in Qatar." 

As part of their preparation, those appointed have already participated in  seminars in Asunción, Madrid or Doha where they have analysed video clips of real match situations and taken part in practical training sessions with players.

The emphasis will be on protecting players and the image of the game, consistency, uniformity, reading the game from a technical and tactical perspective and understanding a variety of player and team mentalities.

Not all mistakes can be avoided, but everything possible will be done to reduce them.

For the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup, three women's referees and three women's assistant referees have been announced. 

They are:

* Stéphanie Frappart (France) 

* Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda) 

 * Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan)

and (assistant referees):

* Neuza Back (Brazil)

* Karen Díaz Medina (Mexico)

* Kathryn Nesbitt (USA)

Insists Collina:  "It is quality that counts for us and not gender. 

"In future, the selection of elite women’s match officials for important men’s competitions will be perceived as something normal and no longer as sensational. 

"They deserve to be at the FIFA World Cup because they constantly perform at a really high level, and that’s the important factor for us."

The oldest referee is Daniele Orsato, of Italy, who will be 47 when the tournament kicks off, while the youngest, at 30, is Kevin Ortega of Peru.

Here is the full list of 36 referees named for the Qatar tournament:

* Abdulrahman Al Jassim (Qatar)

* Ivan Barton (Slovenia)

* Chris Beath (Australia)

* Raphael Claus (Brazil)

* Matthew Conger (New Zealand)

* Ismail Elfath (United States)

* Mario Escobar (Guatemala)

* Alireza Faghani (Iran)

* Stephanie Frappart (France)

* Bakary Gassama (Gambia)

* Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)

* Victor Gomes (South Africa)

* Istvan Kovacs (Romania)

* Ning Ma (China)

* Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)

* Szymon Marciniak (Poland)

* Said Martínez (Honduras)

* Antonio Mateu (Spain)

* Andres Matias Matonte Cabrera (Uruguay)

* Mohammed Abdulla Mohammed (UAE)

* Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda)

* Maguette N’Diaye (Senegal)

* Michael Oliver (England)

* Daniele Orsato (Italy)

* Kevin Ortega (Peru)

* Cesar Ramos (Mexico)

* Fernando Rapallini (Argentina)

* Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)

* Daniel Siebert (Germany)

* Janny Sikazwe (Zambia)

* Anthony Taylor (England)

* Facundo Tello (Argentina)

* Clement Turpin (France)

* Jesus Valenzuela (Venezuela)

* Slavko Vinčić  (Slovenia)

* Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan)

Photo: Sven Mandel via Wikimedia Commons