Female referee Stephanie Frappart will become the first woman to officiate a men’s international game at Wembley when England host Australia

• England’s upcoming game against Australia will be overseen by a female referee
• Stephanie Frappart will be the first woman to officiate a men’s game at Wembley
• Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘It’s All Kicking Off!’

England’s upcoming friendly clash against Australia will see a female referee officiate a men’s international match at Wembley for the first time in history.

French official Stephanie Frappart will take charge of the match on Friday October 13 that pens Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions up against Graham Arnold’s Socceroos.

The 39-year-old will lead out a team of French referees taking charge of the international fixture with Frappart joined by assistant referees Mikael Berchebru and Aurélien Drouet.

Hakim Ben El Hadj will be the fourth official, while VAR responsibilities will fall to Mathieu Vernice and Nicolas Rainville.

Frappart is a trailblazer in officiating and widely recognised as one of the top performing female referees being handed opportunities in the men’s game.

French official Stephanie Frappart will become the first female referee to oversee a men’s international game at Wembley

England take on Australia in a friendly clash at Wembley on Friday October 13

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She previously became the first woman to referee in men’s Ligue 2 and Ligue 1 fixtures in her home nation of France before featuring in European competition.

The French official made her European debut in the Champions League before refereeing the UEFA Supercup game between Chelsea and Liverpool in 2019.

Further milestones followed when Frappart travelled to Qatar last year as a team of competition officials and became the first woman to referee a men’s FIFA World Cup match.

Frappart will lead out a team of French officials at the home of English football on Friday

Frappart middle featured at the Qatar World Cup last year and has overseen matches in the France and Europe

England were keen to take the opportunity to appoint Frappart after the French Football Federation revealed she was available to take charge.

Peter Elsworth, head of the English FA’s refereeing operations, explained the reasoning behind the history-making decision.

He said: ‘Stephanie is an outstanding referee and she has officiated on the highest stage within France, across Europe and recently at the men’s and women’s FIFA World Cup.

‘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.’

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify

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