World Cup first for clubs: three female referees fighting for fifth place | sport

This had never happened in a top men’s competition. In recent years there have been more female umpires or linesmen, but an umpire trio had never been featured before. The fourth official was a man. France’s Stéphanie Frappart (37) previously whistled the Champions League match between Juventus and Dinamo Kyiv on December 2, having previously been cleared to manage the UEFA Super Cup between Liverpool and Chelsea on August 2, 2019 . Frappart was the referee of the World Cup final between the Netherlands and the United States in July 2019 in Lyon. After UEFA, the world football association FIFA also offered female referees the highest podium to whistle.

Brazilian Edina Alves Batista (41) was the referee today at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Al-Rayyan in Qatar. She was assisted by assistant referee Neuza Back (also from Brazil) and Argentina’s Mariana De Almeida.

Al-Duhail SC, who was the champion of Qatar, was cleared to participate in the Club World Cup, won the match 3-1. Dutch defender Dave Bulthuis took part in the South Korean Ulsan Hyundai. He also played against the Mexican Tigers on Thursday, who won 2-1 by two goals from French forward André-Pierre Gignac. Bulthuis, 30, played in the Netherlands for FC Utrecht and Heerenveen. In January 2019, he moved to Ulsan Hyundai, with whom he won the Asian Champions League last December.

Dutch referee Danny Makkelie is in charge of the first semi-final of the Club World Cup. Tonight (9 p.m.) he will go between Tigres and top Brazilian club Palmeiras, who won the Copa Libertadores a week ago in Rio de Janeiro by beating Santos with a goal in the 99th minute. Champions League winners Bayern Munich, who were only able to visit Qatar yesterday after some delay, will play Al Ahly in the other semi-final on Monday night. This great Egyptian club was crowned last November as the best club in Africa.