Soccer history will be made on Wednesday, as there will be a female referee for the first time in a UEFA Champions League game. For the game between Juventus and Dynamo Kyiv from Juventus Stadium in Turin, Italy, the referee will be Stephanie Frappart of Herblay, France.
Frappart was the referee a year ago for the 2019 UEFA Super Cup between Liverpool and Chelsea. This annual soccer game features the champion of the UEFA Champions League and the champion of the UEFA Europa League. It just so happens that this game featured two teams from the English Premier League. Ironically, this was also the first time that video assistant referee, (better known as VAR) was used for a UEFA Super Cup match. Liverpool won the game 5-4 on penalties, after the match was deadlocked at two goals apiece.
Frappart also was the referee for the 2019 Women’s World Cup Final between the United States and the Netherlands. In this particular matchup from Lyon, France on July 7, 2019, the United States was victorious by a score of 2-0. Frappart also was the first female referee of a Ligue 1 match a year ago, when she was in charge of the game between Amiens and Strasbourg. Switzerland’s Nicole Petignat was in charge of UEFA Cup qualifying games from 2004 to 2009 according to Thomson Reuters.
It should be noted that this Group G game between Juventus and Dynamo Kyiv does not mean anything in the grand scheme of things. Juventus and FC Barcelona have already qualified for the round of 16. They are joined by Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Sevilla. The 2021 UEFA Champions League Final will be May 29 at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey.
The UEFA Champions League Final will be one of three major soccer games played in men’s soccer in 2021. It will precede the final of the European Championship from Wembley Stadium in London, England, on July 11, 2021, and the gold medal game of the Olympic soccer tournament from Yokohama, Japan on August 7, 2021.
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