France in Focus

From the beeb. Good luck to the young lady.


Stephanie Frappart will referee tonight's game, becoming the first female official to oversee a men's international match at Wembley.

The 39-year-old from France became the first woman to referee a men's World Cup fixture during Qatar 2022 when she took charge of Germany's 4-2 victory over Costa Rica.

Peter Elsworth, the FA's head of refereeing operations, said: "Stephanie is an outstanding referee.

"We're delighted she and her team will take charge of our upcoming fixture against Australia in front of a sold-out crowd at Wembley Stadium and we're looking forward to welcoming them to the home of English football."

At 39 (or any other age over 18) she is not a "young lady".

She is a woman.

And about bloody time.

demi wrote: ↑Fri Oct 13, 2023 9:46 pm At 39 (or any other age over 18) she is not a "young lady".

She is a woman.

And about bloody time.

well fvck me. I do apologies to the age Nazi's . Good luck to the old girl anyway...;jeez

Girl is just such a patronising term for any female over the age of 16.

Everyone has their own opinions,personally I don’t mind lady,young lady or girl although girl often depends on context

I'm quite happy to be called a young lady at my age, though it's generally by someone the same age or older Better than being an old bat however appropriate

I can only wish her the best of luck - refereeing is not an easy job for anyone.

Blaze wrote: ↑Sat Oct 14, 2023 9:01 am I'm quite happy to be called a young lady at my age, though it's generally by someone the same age or older Better than being an old bat however appropriate

Was just thinking the same!

Me too!

I can imagine my almost 91year old brother calling her a young lady - he’s a very polite man, who would be appalled to be using what some might think of as inappropriate language.

Me too, Blaze!!

However I’m sure I was frequently called an old bat during my final working years.

One of the differences I noticed between East Germany and West Germany (before the Wall came down) was that public loos in the West were "Damen" and "Herren" (Ladies and Gentlemen) while those in the East were " Frauen" and "Männer" (Women and Men).