Stephanie Frappart will become the first female referee to referee a Ligue 1 match, the French Football Federation (FFF) announced.
Frenchwoman Frappart will make history when she officiates Sunday s top-tier match between Amiens and Strasbourg.
The 35-year-old – who will feature at the Women s World Cup this year – was also the first woman to referee a Ligue 2 fixture in 2014.
Stephanie Frappart, selected by FIFA for the Women s World Cup in France, has been appointed by the FFF Refereeing Direction for the match on the 34th day of Ligue 1 between Amiens SC and RC Strasbourg, the FFF said in a statement.
Dans le cadre de sa préparation à la Coupe du monde féminine 2019, Stéphanie Frappart a été désignée pour officier lors de la prochaine jou…
Lionel Messi has outlined his journey from sickbed to three-time Club World Cup winner.
The Barcelona superstar missed his team s semi-final triumph over Guangzhou Evergrande after being struck down with renal colic – a type of abdominal pain commonly caused by the kidney stones.
But Messi returned to Luis Enrique s starting line-up for Sunday s final against River Plate in Yokohama, opening the scoring before a Luis Suarez brace ensured Barca ran out 3-0 winners.
The Spanish and European champions are the first three-time winners of the global crown, adding this year s success to titles collected in 2009 and 2011.
Messi is now the only player to score in three Club World Cup finals, and was relieved to be passed fit for Sunday s match.
There w…
Memphis Depay will not leave Lyon in the January transfer window despite Barcelona maintaining their interest in the attacker, according to Jean-Michel Aulas.
Barca were heavily linked with a move for Depay after former Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman took over in August, but the ex-Manchester United forward remained at the Ligue 1 side.
The Catalan giants are said to be looking to step up their efforts to sign the 26-year-old after Ansu Fati was ruled out for around four months with a knee injury.
Depay s contract with Lyon is set to expire in June and club president Aulas insists he will not be allowed to depart beforehand.
Memphis is an exceptional player. It is him who is pulling the club, along with a number of other players, Aulas said on RMC.
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Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti expects Barcelona to contend for a first Champions League title since 2015 after their signings this close season.
The five-time European champions have fallen short in the continent s premier club competition in recent seasons, including an extraordinary semi-final loss to Liverpool in 2018-19.
Ancelotti, whose side face Barca in a friendly in Florida on Wednesday, feels Ernesto Valverde s men should be contenders once more this season after seeing the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong arrive.
I believe that Barcelona is always a candidate to win the Champions League, he told a news conference.
It has a player like [Lionel] Messi and many others, so I think they always compete to win the maximum and the maximum…
According to a recent report from Bild, German giants Borussia Dortmund are set to launch a bid for Thorgan Hazard in the summer transfer window. The 25 year old has been with Borussia Monchengladbach since back in 2015, with a loan spell dating back to 2014, and he has been turning heads ever since then. He spent three years with Chelsea, alongside his brother Eden, but never made a professional appearance for the Blues.
Hazard is currently valued at around £35 million, but it feels like Gladbach will want to hold out for even more than that – given he is one of their star players.
Thorgan is also a Belgium international, and has been since back in 2013.
If he decides to go ahead with leaving in the summer, then we’d imagine even more high profile European…