Stephanie to become first female referee at men's World Cup game

AL KHOR [QATAR]: History will be made when Costa Rica face Germany on December 1 at the Al Bayt Stadium when France's Stephanie Frappart will become the first woman in the history of the FIFA World Cup to referee a finals match in the men's tournament.

Frappart, who will be the first woman to referee a men's World Cup match, will be joined by assistant referees Neuza Back of Brazil and Mexico's Karen Diaz Medina for the crucial Group E game on Thursday, Fifa announced on Tuesday.

However, it will not be the first time the 38-year-old French referee has written her name into football history. Frappart was also the first woman to referee a Ligue 1 and UEFA Champions League game.

"The men's World Cup is the most important sporting competition in the world. I was the first referee in France and in Europe, so I know how to deal with it," Frappart said in an official statement released by FIFA.com.

Before the World Cup, Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, said of the three female referees at the World Cup: "They were not selected because they are women but as FIFA referees. They could officiate any game."