• Referee Stephanie Frappart talks to the players as the first women official to take charge of a World Cup qualifier. EPA Getty
    Referee Stephanie Frappart talks to the players as the first women official to take charge of a World Cup qualifier. EPA Getty
  • French referee Stephanie Frappart makes history as the first women official to take charge of a World Cup qualifier. EPA
    French referee Stephanie Frappart makes history as the first women official to take charge of a World Cup qualifier. EPA
  • French football referee Stephanie Frappart in action. AFP
    French football referee Stephanie Frappart in action. AFP
  • Referee Stephanie Frappart shows a yellow card to Netherlands' Luuk de Jong. AP
    Referee Stephanie Frappart shows a yellow card to Netherlands' Luuk de Jong. AP
  • Luuk de Jong of Netherlands celebrates after scoring their team's second goal as Referee Stephanie Frappart looks on. Getty
    Luuk de Jong of Netherlands celebrates after scoring their team's second goal as Referee Stephanie Frappart looks on. Getty
  • Referee Stephanie Frappart and her match officials before the match. Reuters
    Referee Stephanie Frappart and her match officials before the match. Reuters
  • Spectators prior to kick-off. AP
    Spectators prior to kick-off. AP
  • Dutch fans before the start of the match against Latvia. EPA
    Dutch fans before the start of the match against Latvia. EPA
  • Dutch fans gather in the stadium. EPA
    Dutch fans gather in the stadium. EPA
  • Dutch fans cheer during the match. EPA
    Dutch fans cheer during the match. EPA
  • Dutch fans, who were tested for Covid-19 earlier in the day, gather is a section of the stadium. AFP
    Dutch fans, who were tested for Covid-19 earlier in the day, gather is a section of the stadium. AFP
  • Dutch fans cheer on their side. AFP
    Dutch fans cheer on their side. AFP
  • Dutch fans after the match. Reuters
    Dutch fans after the match. Reuters
  • epa09101752 Dutch player Matthijs de Ligt listens to French referee Stephanie Frappart. EPA
    epa09101752 Dutch player Matthijs de Ligt listens to French referee Stephanie Frappart. EPA
  • Luuk de Jong scores the second goal. Getty
    Luuk de Jong scores the second goal. Getty

Stephanie Frappart makes history as the first woman to referee a men's World Cup qualifier - in pictures


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Referee Stephanie Frappart made history as the first woman to take charge of a men's World Cup qualifier as the Netherlands beat Latvia 2-0 in front of 5,000 fans.

France's Frappart was in December the first woman to take charge of a men's Champions League match, between Juventus and Dynamo Kiev.

The 37-year-old was also the first woman to referee in the French top flight, the lead official for the 2019 Uefa Super Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea, and made her Europa League debut in October.

She took charge as Frank de Boer's side bounced back from their opening round defeat in Turkey with a dominant performance that delighted the small but rowdy crowd at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam.

The Dutch capital is set to host matches at this summer's delayed Euro 2020 and the supporters, who all tested negative for Covid-19, were at the match as part of an experiment to see whether events with spectators can take place safely during the pandemic.

They went home happy thanks to Steven Berghuis' superb first-half strike and a Luuk de Jong header in the 69th minute, although the Dutch could have won by more, wasting a host of chances and twice hitting the bar.

"The way we played pleased me but only winning 2-0 after creating dozens of chances isn't enough," said a frustrated De Boer.

"We deserved to win by at least five goals. We tried everything... I looked at the statistics and we touched the ball 96 times in the opposition area. It's incredible."

The Netherlands are third in Group G, three points behind leaders Turkey, who won 3-0 win in Norway and Montenegro, who maintained their perfect start with a 4-1 victory over Gibraltar.