Dr. Riikka Turtiainen
University Lecturer in Digital Culture at the University of Turku, Finland. Her research focuses on gender equality in media sport, particularly the representation of women’s sports and social media in the context of team sports, athlete-activists, and online harassment. She is one of the editors of the book Women in a Digitized Sports Culture: Nordic Perspectives (2025, Routledge).
E-mail: riikka.turtiainen@utu.fi
Stéphanie Frappart, from France, made history at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar by officiating the Germany–Costa Rica match, as she was the first woman head referee at the men’s tournament. This time, she was followed by two women, Tori Penso from the United States and Katia Itzel García from Mexico, who were selected as the head referees for the 2026 World Cup. Both are highly accomplished referees; Penso has officiated in the Major League Soccer (MLS) and was the head referee in the previous Women’s World Cup final 2023, and García has been a referee in Liga MX and at the 2024 Summer Olympics, among other competitions. In addition to them, FIFA selected three women assistant referees and one woman video match official (VAR) for the 2026 tournament.
Research has revealed that during the previous FIFA World Cup, both international sports media and its audience perpetuated the hegemonic masculinity of football by marginalizing the role of women referees. Sports media highlighted how unusual it was to have a woman as the head referee on the field, while the majority of the audience directly expressed their views on Twitter that women referees do not belong in men’s major competitions. Although Penso and García were no longer the first women ever to referee at the men’s World Cup this time, the sports media continued to highlight the uniqueness of the situation. It was reported that the referees representing the host countries were ”the first Mexican female” and ”the first all-American, all-women” to hold those positions. The news report noted that they were following in the footsteps of Frappart, who had paved the way in the previous World Cup and was thus the very first of the first.
There is nothing inherently wrong with highlighting the first trailblazers, but maintaining this kind of narrative puts pressure on them and places the responsibility for improving the status of women referees on individuals. In the sports world, women professionals are constantly forced to prove their competence, which, combined with their status as role models, places an additional burden on them. This distracts attention from the structural problems in football, namely the fact that, despite their expertise, women are still the exception rather than the norm in professional roles – a situation that needs to change, driven by sports organizations.
Outside of pre-match coverage, the gender of referees did not become a central focus of attention in the (international) professional media, unlike in online comments by football fans. Before the Czech Republic–South Africa match refereed by Penso, South African fans already expressed their disappointment with the referee on online forums. Some online commenters considered the selection of a women referee to be extremely bad luck, but even more than gender, it was the referee’s nationality that was the issue, as fans would under no circumstances have wanted a referee representing Trump to officiate the game.
After refereeing the Ecuador–Germany match, Penso came under criticism because the opening goal of the match was scored after a German player’s high foot. Many sports experts felt that it was a dangerous play and that the goal should have been ruled out. However, hardly anyone mentioned the VAR official’s role in the matter. Unsurprisingly, Penso became the target of online hate from fans, in which her gender was also brought up.
Katia Itzel García, however, became a social media sensation when, in the final moments of the match between the U.S. and Australia, she ran onto the field as the fourth official to offer pickle juice to the head referee, who was suffering from a leg cramp. Rather than gender-based belittlement, this case was more a reflection of the meme-like nature of social media, where the ‘magic potion’ became the focus of the humor.
Just as in the previous tournament, only a small number of the affirming comments directed at women referees on social media encouraged the increased participation of women as referees. More common, in general, are sexist comments intended to drive women referees off the field. Discriminatory, patriarchal content typically reinforces views that are consistent with hegemonic masculinity. While mocking and condescending comments are directed not only at the decisions women referees make during matches but also at their physical characteristics. The most insulting and profane comments clearly meet the criteria for online harassment directed at women professionals, which is, unfortunately, all too common in sports in general. In addition, in countries such as Brazil and Spain, the sports media has tended to focus on sensationalist reporting about violence against women referees without addressing the structural problems that affect their working conditions.
It would be desirable that women referees become so common at the FIFA World Cup in the near future that they could focus on their work without being subjected to gender-based online harassment. Ideally, of course, a referee could be of any gender without anyone paying any attention to it. However, to support this structural change, there must first be a shared commitment among sports media, football fans, and sports organizations. Will the situation be better in four years?
