- Title: Female referees deserve to officiate at World Cup - Rwanda's Salima Mukansanga
- Date: 18th November 2022
- Summary: DOHA, QATAR (NOVEMBER 18, 2022) (REUTERS) ASSISTANT REFEREE LOOKING AT GAME REFEREE OFFICIATING TRAINING GAME RUNNING TO FOLLOW THE ACTION ASSISTANT REFEREE LOOKING AT GAME FIFA ARMBAND VARIOUS OF RWANDAN REFEREE SALIMA MUKANSANGA SPEAKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (French) RWANDAN REFEREE, SALIMA MUKANSANGA, SAYING: "It's a pleasure and an honour for us women to be selected for the men's world cup. It's a great opportunity for us to continue working and give it our all and work with our brothers to make this World Cup a success." MUKANSANGA SPEAKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) RWANDAN REFEREE, SALIMA MUKANSANGA, SAYING: "We are here because we deserve to be here. Back at our confederation, or back at home it is another level, so this is the biggest level of football. So being here means we deserve to be here, it's not a change or because we are women. We have been working hard to be here and we deserve to be here, so we are going to work hard and show the world we deserve to be here, and we are going to win." VARIOUS OF ASSISTANT REFEREE KATHRYN NESBITT SPEAKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. ASSISTANT REFEREE, KATHRYN NESBITT, SAYING: "We have a close bond, we feel though we are part of one team, we've been completely welcomed, we feel like we are one referee team here, no difference man or woman." REFEREE RUNNING TO FOLLOW THE ACTION REFEREES ON THE SIDELINES REFEREE GIVING YELLOW CARD TO PLAYER ONGOING GAME VARIOUS OF REFEREE OFFICIATING GAME DOHA SKYLINE FROM STADIUM 17 BALL IN IN GOAL AL RAYYAN, QATAR (NOVEMBER 18, 2022) (REUTERS) REFEREES CHIEF, PIERLUIGI COLLINA, SPEAKING AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) REFEREES CHIEF, PIERLUIGI COLLINA, SAYING: "It's something new, of course it's something attracts attention, it attracts interest, as well as everything new. But for us they are referees, for us they are match officials, and this is the message I gave them when they attended the first time the seminar of the selected match officials. You are here not because you are women, you are here because you are FIFA match officials." NEWS CONFERENCE ONGOING (SOUNDBITE) (English) REFEREES CHIEF, PIERLUIGI COLLINA, SAYING: "They are ready to officiate any kind of match, depending of course of their performances in their training sessions, depending on our thoughts. The decision will be based on these topics." VARIOUS OF NEWS CONFERENCE ONGOING
- Embargoed: 2nd December 2022 10:50
- Keywords: fifa qatar training women referees world cup
- Location: DOHA, AL RAYYAN, QATAR
- City: DOHA, AL RAYYAN, QATAR
- Country: Qatar
- Topics: Middle East,Sport,World Cup
- Reuters ID: LVA001041118112022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Salima Mukansanga, one of the three female referees who will officiate at a men's World Cup for the first time, said they have been chosen for the tournament in Qatar not simply based on their gender but because they deserve the chance.
Rwanda's Mukansanga, Yamashita Yoshimi of Japan and Frenchwoman Stephanie Frappart along with three female assistant referees have been selected for the World Cup, which begins on Sunday.
"We are here because we deserve to be here. Back at our confederation, or back at home it is another level, so this is the biggest level of football," Mukansanga told reporters in Doha on Friday.
"So being here means we deserve to be here, it's not a change or because we are women."
Assistant referee Kathryn Nesbitt of the United States said they feel welcome.
"We feel like we are one referee team here, no difference man or woman," she said.
Female referees at the World Cup will not face restrictions based on cultural or religious grounds in matches involving conservative nations such as Iran, Saudi Arabia or Qatar, referees chief Pierluigi Collina said on Friday (November 18).
"It's something new, of course it's something attracts attention, it attracts interest, as well as everything new. But for us they are referees, for us they are match officials, and this is the message I gave them when they attended the first time the seminar of the selected match officials. You are here not because you are women, you are her because you are FIFA match officials," he said.
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