If the World Cup is supposed to be a celebration of the very best players, and the very best footballing nations, then it makes sense that it should be presided over by the very best officials too.
This week, FIFA confirmed the identity of the 36 referees who will be travelling out to Qatar in November. And, for the first time in World Cup history, there will be three female officials in attendance.
38-year-old Stephanie Frappart shot to fame in 2019 when becoming the first female referee to officiate a major men’s European match, Liverpool’s UEFA Super Cup victory over Chelsea.
“If we’d played like they whistled, then we would have won 6-0. They played a brilliant game,” Jurgen Klopp said of Frappart and her team.
“They were good, they were really good.”
Frappart will be joined in Qatar by Rwandard Salima Mukansanga and Yoshimi Yamashita from Japan.
World Cup trendsetters
Two of the most recognisable names on FIFA’s 36-strong list are Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor, a pair of Premier League veterans.
Regular Champions League viewers may also recognise Daniele Orsato (Italy), Danny Makkiele (Netherlands), Szymon Marciniak (Poland), Daniel Siebert (Germany) and Clement Turpin (France).
And watch out for Antonio Mateu Lahoz, a flamboyant, headstrong, card-happy ref who has found himself on Pep Guardiola’s bad side more than once. If Spain has a Mike Dean, it’s him.
Morocco-born Ismail Elfath is the only American in FIFA’s selection. He will be joined by Abdulrahman Al Jassim, officiating at his home tournament.
Ivan Barton (Slovenia), Chris Beath (Australia), Raphael Claus (Brazil), Matthew Conger (New Zealand), Mario Escobar (Guatemala), Alireza Faghani (Iran), Ma Ning (China), Said Martinez (Honduras) and Andreas Matias Matonte Cabrera (Uruguay), will also be in attendance.
As will Abdulla Mohammed Mohammed (UAE), Kevin Ortega (Peru), Cesar Ramos (Mexico), Fernando Rapallini (Argentina), Wilton Sampaio (Brazil), Facundo Tello (Argentina), Jesus Valenzuela (Venezuela) and Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).
Istvan Kovacs of Romania will ref the UEFA Conference League final between Feyenoord and Roma before heading to Qatar. If he can handle Jose Mourinho, he can handle anything.
Turpin will be in charge of the Champions League final, while Vincic oversaw Eintracht Frankfurt’s Europa League shoot-out triumph over Rangers.
Bakary Gassama (Gambia), Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria), Victor Gomez (South Africa), Maguette Mukansanga (Senegal), Janny Sikazwe (Zambia) are the African representatives.
Felix Brych, named the World’s Best Referee for 2021, will not be in attendance, however, after retiring from international duty.
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