She’s good but Super Cup too much, too soon

THERE were 22 referees used in France’s Ligue 1 last season and the busiest pair, Antony Gautier and Benoit Bastien, took charge of 21 games each. Another two handled 40 games between them, a group of six took 19 games, another five 18, three refereed 17, and the 21st most called upon match official, Jeremy Stinat, assumed control 12 times. None of these officials will referee UEFA’s Super Cup next week. For that role, UEFA have chosen an official who handled two games in Ligue 1 last season, and none previously — yet because Stephanie Frappart is female and a trail-blazer, this decision has passed almost without comment. Just as it would if UEFA gave the job to, say, Premier League official Andy Madley — Robert’s older brother — who also refereed two top-flight matches in 2018-19. Let’s clear one thing up straight away. Women can officiate men’s matches. Many have and very successfully. The presence of a female assistant referee at a Premier League game is no longer an issue. Nobody makes hoary old jokes about not knowing the offside rule any more — even when the Cameroon team at this summer’s women’s World Cup plainly didn’t. The game has evolved. Yet experience at elite level? That’s a different matter. To have a referee, male or female, with two games’ experience in men’s elite football in charge of a European final is unusual. Frappart (below) is clearly an exceptional official because she has been retained on the Ligue 1 list this season, the first female to make that step. She is also a very experienced referee in the women’s game and recently took charge of the World Cup final in Lyon. Even so, this is a prestige final between Liverpool and Chelsea, being handled by a referee whose experience at what might be classed a comparable standard, certainly physically, amounts to two matches. So not without its challenges, then. Given the difference in the speed of the game, and the players, Frappart’s background in women’s football is comparable to Madley’s in competitions beyond the Premier League. He would not be considered for the UEFA Super Cup gig, though, no matter how many Championship fixtures he had amassed. An undisputed convention of sport is that elite judges, umpires or referees need to build up experience in elite matches. When Madley took charge of Cardiff’s game against Watford last December, Neil Warnock bemoaned having Andre Marriner as the fourth official, while leaving the match in the hands of a ‘trainee’. This week at Edgbaston, the wisdom of having the ICC’s least experienced umpire, Joel Wilson, calling one of cricket’s biggest occasions has been ruthlessly exposed. And UEFA seem to have placed importance on experience in the past. Last season’s Super Cup final was handled by Poland’s Szymon Marciniak whose c.v. included 23 Champions League games, 18 Europa League games, nine World Cup matches and seven European Championship matches. He was the referee when Juventus played Barcelona in the 2017 Champions League quarter-final; he took charge of Germany v Sweden at the World Cup in Russia. He was no rookie, and under no additional pressure as a left-field appointment. Frappart’s two matches in Ligue 1 last year resulted in an average of 4.5 yellow cards per game, the highest aggregate of any official in that season. Were her matches particularly lawless? Did she take no nonsense, or was she over-compensating? Her bosses must be happy because she is back again, but to also be awarded one of only three UEFA club finals this season is not a logical next step. Frappart was a good referee at the women’s World Cup and there is no reason to believe she won’t be again in Istanbul next week. Yet she is, as Madley was at Cardiff, new. And had Madley got UEFA’s call it most certainly would not have passed without comment.