The World Is a Ball: Debutants, women referees are relegated to figure in the World Cup

One of the pleasant novelties of the men’s World Cup in Qatar is the presence, for the first time, of women in refereeing.

Six professionals, three referees and three assistants (flags), were chosen by Fifa to work for the first time in the most important men’s competition in football.

They are the French Stéphanie Frappart, 38, the Rwandan Salima Mukansanga, 34, the Japanese Yamashita Yoshimi, 36, all referees, and the assistant referees Neuza Back, 38, from Brazil, Karen Díaz Medina, 38, from Mexico, and Kathryn Nesbitt, 34 from the US.

To applaud, right? The idea, yes, and standing. Putting the idea into practice, no. It deserves boos, that’s for sure.

Because, with two full rounds of the World Cup completed, or 32 matches, or nine days of competition, none of them played a relevant role in the Qatari Cup.

A relevant role is understood to be responsible for running the game, that is, refereeing it, or running on the sides of the pitch marking offsides, fouls, ball outs, that is, playing the role of assistant to the referee on the field.

For those less knowledgeable about football (does anyone less knowledgeable read this blog?), each match has two linesmen (so called because they hold a flag, raised when there is a marking), one on each side of the field.

All those mentioned, including the renowned Frappart –which has already refereed a men’s Champions League game and a World Cup Qualifying match in progress, in addition to the men’s French Cup decision–, are being relegated to the role of extras in the World Cup.

The Frenchwoman was cast twice, for Mexico x Poland and Portugal x Ghana. Your role? Fourth referee. Or the referee’s reserve – if the referee is injured or feels unwell, the fourth referee replaces him.

The chance of this happening is minimal, so it remains for the fourth referee to lift the sign at the time of player substitutions, indicating the number of those entering and leaving.

The “champion” in this role in the Cup has been the Japanese Yoshimi, chosen in no less than three matches, in which she exercised her arms a lot, since there were 26 changes in them. Mukansanga was the fourth referee in a game, France v Australia.

Among the assistants, the Santa Catarina Back received the responsibility of being the “fifth referee”, which is the reserve of the assistants (flags).

If one of them cannot continue in the game (very rare), she enters. If not, she serves as an assistant to the fourth official. Doing what? Handing over the sign for him to lift when replacing.

The North American Nesbitt, fifth referee in France v Australia, won another FIFA assignment. She was included in four matches in the VAR (video assistant referee) team.

Not, however, as the head of the class, but as an assistant, responsible for checking impediments. As technology has evolved in this Cup and there is semi-automatic offside, I imagine there isn’t much Nesbitt needs to check.

It is disappointing, even regrettable, that FIFA takes women to participate in World Cup refereeing and relegates them to supporting roles.

A crack inclusion. It gives the impression that they have less ability to go on the field than male referees.

You can’t even make the excuse that they’re in line. Of the 36 referees in the Cup, 9 refereed two games. Of the 69 linesmen, 54 have already acted, that is, the three women are in the marginalized group.

Is it possible to change this? Yes, there are still many games, with increasing importance, until the decision day, December 18th.

But it will not be in the first two days of the final round of the group stage that this will happen.

The arbitration scales for the four games on Tuesday (29) and the four on Wednesday (30) have already been released, and neither Frappart, nor Mukansanga, nor Yoshimi, nor Back, nor Díaz Medina, nor Nesbitt will be protagonists.

Perhaps due prominence to each one of them will be given soon, in the next few days. It doesn’t look like it. Hope remains. Hopefully it happens.