Japan and New Caledonia’s third group game was probably the only one in the FIFA U-17 World Cup where the spotlight was on the referee, rather than the players. Esther Staubli, stood there on the pitch, after the game, with a confident grin on her face. As she walked off, people on the sidelines congratulated and hugged her. She had became the first woman referee to officiate a men’s FIFA World Cup match.
The game, though it should have been a cakewalk for Japan, turned out to be a rather thrilling one. Minows New Caledonia had conceded an astonishing 12 goals in their first two group games. Though the Japanese dominated, complacency set in and they let New Caledonia score from a corner. Japan were through either way and New Caledonia were out. What mattered more was the history maker.
Staubli is one of the seven women referees at this U-17 FIFA World Cup. “That FIFA has selected female referees for a men’s tournament is a logical consequence of an education programme that FIFA’s Refereeing Department started in 2016,” said a release on the FIFA website. “The positive results and improvements seen in the joint preparations have shown that the time has come for elite female referees to officiate in men’s competitions together with their male colleagues.”
The 38-year-old Swiss national had earlier refereed the UEFA Women's EURO 2017 final, another first. “In Switzerland, it's not possible to live from refereeing,” Staubli had told UEFA.com. “I'm a teacher in an agricultural school. I teach 16 to 20-year-olds how to milk cows and feed pigs.”
Staubli was a player in the top women’s division in Switzerland. But she realised that she was not skilled enough to make it big. She then took up referring out of her passion for the game.
At the World Cup game today, Staubli gave a good account of herself, though the disciplined teams hardly gave the referee much trouble. Midway through both halves, Staubli gave the two teams water breaks because of the unbearable humidity levels.
With her today was Claudia Umpierrez, another woman referee, as the game’s fourth official. Umpierrez also commands a path-breaking career. On 5 March, 2016, she became the first woman to take charge of a men’s professional football match in her country, Uruguay.
“I need to show that I’m here to stay and that I haven’t got where I am by chance,” Umpierrez had told FIFA.com. “I feel I have a responsibility to show that we female referees have got what it takes to officiate at a professional level. If we get the opportunities, then it’s up to us to prove that.”
In her interview with UEFA.com, Staubli had stressed on the need to encourage girls to become referees. “I would recommend taking up refereeing to any girl,” Staubli said. “It's one of the greatest educations: to handle people is the most interesting thing, and if you like football, you get to be involved in a very interesting sport. The positives vastly outweigh any occasional negatives.”
