Dr. Thaya Vester
Criminologist (fields of study: sociology, law and sports science) at the University of Tübingen; main areas of research: violence and discrimination in the context of sport; also serves on various committees within organized football (in particular the German Football Association (DFB) and the Württemberg Football Association (WFV)) and acts as a scientific adviser to the International Football Association Board (IFAB)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-thaya-vester
Email: thaya.vester@uni-tuebingen.de
David Zimmermann
holds a degree in Political and Social Studies from the University of Würzburg. He is currently a student research assistant at the Institute of Criminology at the University of Tübingen. His academic interests lie at the intersection of sport, political science, sociology, and criminology.
Email: david.zimmermann@guest.uni-tuebingen.de
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/david-f-l-zimmermann
Dr. Daniel Nölleke
Assistant professor for “Sports Journalism and Public Relations” at the Institute of Communication and Media Research at the German Sport University Cologne. His main areas of expertise include journalism studies, sports communication and mediatization theory. He is acting chair of the ECREA Temporary Working Group “Communication and Sport” and member of the editorial boards of the International Journal of Sport Communication and Communication & Sport.
Email: d.noelleke@dshs-koeln.de
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-nölleke-663326170
When discussing women in refereeing, the question quickly arises as to whether women should also referee men’s matches. Conversely, hardly anyone finds it strange when a man referees a women’s match. The inclusion of female referees in men’s football has often been, and continues to be, viewed with skepticism. This overlooks the fact that women and men must meet the same requirements for the role, despite their different physical conditions. Objectively, this alone should be enough to end such a debate, but reality tells us otherwise.
There are several reasons for the low proportion of women in football refereeing worldwide. One contributing factor is the ban on women playing football – and therefore also becoming referees – which lasted for decades and continues to have an impact today. Another is that it remains more difficult for women to establish themselves in a field shaped by predominantly male structures and power relations. Although the refereeing community succeeds in attracting young women and girls, the greater challenge is retaining them. Significantly more women than men leave the refereeing community again quite quickly. This can be explained, at least in part, by sexist experiences on the pitch and within football associations.
The fewer women there are in the system, the fewer will subsequently reach the highest levels of the sport. In 2022, France’s Stéphanie Frappart became the first woman to referee a match at a Men’s World Cup. Although historically significant, this remained a one-off event at that tournament. The situation was different at the 2026 World Cup: six women were deployed in 12 matches as referees, assistant referees or VAR/AVAR officials. When assignments as fourth officials, reserve assistants and standby officials are included, women were involved in 19 matches.
The group stage match between the Czech Republic and South Africa attracted particular attention because it featured an all-female refereeing team: Tori Penso as referee, assisted by Brooke Mayo and Kathryn Nesbitt.
Penso was subsequently assigned to Ecuador v Germany on June 25, 2026. A day later, Mexico’s Katia García refereed Tunisia v Netherlands. Meanwhile, Tatiana Guzmán from Nicaragua was deployed as a VAR on several occasions throughout the tournament.
Overall, media coverage and reactions on social media were predominantly positive. The appointments were widely welcomed as a historic step forward. Penso was celebrated as only the second woman after Frappart to referee a Men’s World Cup match. García subsequently became the third woman and the first Latin American woman to do so. Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum described García as an inspiration to girls worldwide, while Mexican media highlighted her composure, authority and the historic significance of her appointment.
As with male referees, however, their individual performances were sometimes discussed critically. García received mixed reviews. Mexican media described her performance as confident and credited her with maintaining good control of the match. Dutch media, by contrast, strongly criticized the failure of García and the VAR to identify Mohamed Amine Ben Hamida’s kick to Tijjani Reijnders’ Achilles tendon as a possible red-card offense.
There were also controversial incidents in the matches refereed by Penso. In her first match, she awarded South Africa a disputed handball penalty. Although VAR confirmed the decision, it was intensely debated in traditional and social media. Some referee observers praised her performance, whereas the specialist platform Law 5 criticized her handling of cautions and her overall control of the match.
Penso’s second match, Ecuador v Germany, also generated controversy. Germany’s early goal came under scrutiny because a possible high foot or foul on Pedro Vite before Sané’s goal went unpunished. Some media outlets described the decision as a “joke”, while several experts considered it a clear foul requiring VAR intervention. Part of the criticism subsequently shifted from the decision itself to Penso’s gender. Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri explicitly focused on Penso’s gender and called for her not to be appointed again. This triggered a strong backlash and accusations of chauvinism. Consequently, the legitimate discussion of a specific refereeing decision was overshadowed by a wider debate about sexism.
Apart from this incident, Penso received considerable positive feedback on social media. A YouTube Short compiling examples of her performance and clear body language, entitled “Nothing beats watching an all-female referee crew spending 90 minutes babysitting grown men”, quickly received more than one hundred thousand likes.
Tatiana Guzmán’s appearances as a VAR were the subject of even more heated debate. Headlines included “She had already been involved in the DFB’s exit: Germany’s VAR nemesis is causing a stir once again”. However, these reports did not explicitly reject her because of her gender. They can instead be interpreted primarily as part of the broader controversy surrounding VAR at the World Cup.
This is precisely the point that football needs to reach: officials should not be judged or disparaged because of personal characteristics but assessed solely on their performance. Female referees must be subject to the same professional scrutiny as their male colleagues – no less, but also no more. In this respect, the 2026 World Cup made a positive contribution towards normalizing the involvement of women in official roles.
