Super Cup Appointment
Wexford assistant referee Michelle O’Neill will run the line as part of the first female team to take charge of a major men’s European final in the UEFA Super Cup between Liverpool and Chelsea later this month.
The game, which pits the UEFA Champions League holders against the winners of the UEFA Europa League, is seen as a curtain-raiser to the new football season.
O’Neill referees in the FAI Continental Tyres Women’s National League and is an assistant ref in the SSE Airtricity League.
She will again assist match referee Stéphanie Frappart, as she did in the women’s World Cup final between the USA and the Netherlands, at Beşiktaş Park in Istanbul on 14 August.
Manuela Nicolosi of France will be the other assistant referee while Turkish man Cuneyt Cakir is the fourth official.
“I have said on many occasions that the potential for women’s football has no limits and I am delighted that Stéphanie Frappart has been appointed to officiate at this year’s UEFA Super Cup along with assistant referees Manuela Nicolosi and Michelle O’Neil,” said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.
“As an organisation, we place the utmost importance on the development of women’s football in all areas. I hope the skill and devotion that Stéphanie has shown throughout her career to reach this level will provide inspiration to millions of girls and women around Europe and show them there should be no barriers in order to reach one’s dream.”
UEFA chief refereeing officer Roberto Rosetti praised Frappart’s ability as an official and said she “fully deserves” the opportunity to oversee such a high-profile fixture.
“Stéphanie has proved over a number of years that she is one of the best female referees, not just in Europe but across the world,” said Rosetti.
“She has the ability to officiate on the biggest stage, as she proved at this year’s Women’s World Cup final. I hope this match in Istanbul will provide her with yet more experience as she enters the prime of her refereeing career.”
Frappart created history domestically in France when she became the first female referee to officiate a Ligue 1 match, between SC Amiens and RC Strasbourg in April. She has been promoted to join the pool of Ligue 1 referee on a permanent basis for the 2019/20 season.
However, the 35-year-old Frappart is not the first female referee assigned to a men’s UEFA competition match. That was Switzerland’s Nicole Petignat who refereed three UEFA Cup qualifying round games between 2004 and 2009.
