Ligue 1: France gets its first female top flight football referee, but the federation scores an own goal
This article by , Senior Lecturer in French and Francophone Studies, School of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .
As the end of the 2018-19 football season approaches, a match between Amiens and Strasbourg in France鈥檚 Ligue 1 would normally attract little attention. However, Sunday鈥檚 game has already created headlines as St茅phanie Frappart will become in the top tier of French men鈥檚 football.
Initially, this appointment could be seen as a symbol of progress and inclusion. But the French Football Federation (FFF) announced that Frappart had been appointed as the main official for the Amiens-Strasbourg match in order to 鈥溾�� ahead of the 2019 Women鈥檚 World Cup in France.
The FFF鈥檚 explanation seems somewhat begrudging as it makes no reference to Frappart鈥檚 experience or talent as a match official. It arguably presents her nomination as a means to an end rather than a logical next step for someone who has officiated in Ligue 2 since 2014. Indeed, Frappart has also been a fourth official or video assistant referee in Ligue 1 several times.
Whether Frappart will establish herself as a leading referee within men鈥檚 football in France is uncertain. Pascal Garibian, technical director for refereeing in France, has said it is 鈥溾�� if she will become a regular main referee in Ligue 1. In addition, it is unclear .
It is also worth questioning to what extent officiating at Amiens-Strasbourg constitutes good preparation for this summer鈥檚 Women鈥檚 World Cup. Amiens鈥� home stadium can welcome 12,000 spectators, 8,000 fewer than the smallest 2019 Women鈥檚 World Cup venue. Seven of France鈥檚 nine World Cup stadiums have more than double the capacity of Amiens鈥� Stade de la Licorne. And Amiens has the of Ligue 1 teams during the current season.
Slow progression
Frappart becoming the first woman to referee a match in Ligue 1 is significant, but also somewhat paradoxical. In fact, it highlights the lack of career progression enjoyed by female officials within French men鈥檚 football 鈥� and across Europe, too.
In September 2017, Bibiana Steinhaus became the in a European main men鈥檚 football league (in Germany鈥檚 Bundesliga). But while Frappart鈥檚 appointment will see Ligue 1 become the second major European men鈥檚 league in which a woman has taken charge of a game, it has taken some time to get here.
In 1996, Nelly Viennot became the , yet it has taken another 23 years for the first female main referee. In a top-level career lasting from 1996-2007, Viennot was regularly an assistant referee in men鈥檚 football, but never a main referee.
Regrettably, it seems that the FFF has taken the sheen off a notable first. A request from FIFA that its member associations help match officials to 鈥溾�� for the 2019 Women鈥檚 World Cup seems the main reason Frappart will officiate this Sunday. It is somewhat unusual for someone not selected as a top division referee at the start of the season to officiate in Ligue 1. In Germany, Bibiana Steinhaus had been listed as one of the top division referees prior to the 2017-18 season.
As a referee in Ligue 2, Frappart has at times encountered sexist attitudes. When coach of Valenciennes in 2015, David Le Frapper said that 鈥溾�� following a match Frappart refereed. Such comments are reminiscent of Sky presenters to Sian Massey-Ellis鈥� presence as assistant referee at an English Premier League match in 2011, when they suggested that female officials 鈥渄on鈥檛 know the offside rule鈥�.
During the last decade, the FFF has provoked controversy when seeking to encourage more women to get involved in football. In 2010, they sought to boost the profile of women鈥檚 football in France via . Several posters were based on obvious gender stereotypes.
One featured an image of female footballers in a changing room and the slogan 鈥淔or once you won鈥檛 scream when seeing another girl wearing the same outfit鈥�. The FFF had previously promoted women鈥檚 football via an image of three leading players posing naked alongside the question 鈥淚s this what we have to do for you to come to see us play?鈥�
Nelly Viennot鈥檚 presence as the first female assistant referee in Ligue 1 did not herald the arrival of many more female officials in French men鈥檚 football. St茅phanie Frappart is still the only woman to have been the main referee in Ligue 2. It is unclear to what extent attitudes to female referees in French men鈥檚 football are evolving. It may well be several years before we realise the real impact of Frappart鈥檚 appointment as referee for the match between Amiens and Strasbourg.
Publication date: 25 April 2019