England vs Senegal: Who is the referee? Why Three Lions fans may recognise Stephanie Frappart
The referee for England’s friendly match against Senegal has been announced.
The Three Lions played out a dreary 1-0 victory away to Andorra at the weekend, but tonight the City Ground in Nottingham will see not another World Cup qualifier but a friendly. Manager Thomas Tuchel will be hoping that he can coax a more convincing performance out of his side, and will perhaps use the game to experiment.
Who is the referee for England vs Senegal?
Stéphanie Frappart will take charge - and it will be the second time she has been in the middle for an England game. Last time she became the first woman to ref a senior England men’s game when she oversaw a a match against Australia at Wembley in October 2023, when Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins netted in a 1-0 victory.
Frappart was the first woman to referee in men’s Ligue 2 and Ligue 1 in France and was then the first woman to referee in the Champions League and Super Cup.
She was also chosen for the 2022 Qatar World Cup and and took charge of Germany vs Costa Rica, and was an official at the Women's World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand, her third appearance in that competition after being involved in 2015 and 2019.
Frappart, 41, grew up in Herblay-sur-Seine just north of France and began refereeing youth games at the age of 13. By the age of 18, she was refereeing national U-19 games.
The FA’s head of refereeing operations Peter Elsworth said: “Stéphanie is an outstanding referee and she has officiated on the highest stage within France, across Europe and at the men’s and women’s FIFA World Cup."
Is Stephanie Frappart likely to send anyone off?
The website WhoScored.com has crunched her numbers in top-flight games. Looking at the 118 matches she has officiated in the French Ligue 1, the Europa League, the men’s and women’s World Cups finals and qualifiers, plus the Champions League, the Nations League and European Championship qualifiers, Frappart has shown on average 3.66 yellow cards a game, and 0.19 red cards. Last time out with England in the Australia friendly - which is not included in the above stats, she booked Levi Colwill and Conor Gallagher.
Who are the other officials for England vs Senegal?
The officials are an all-French team. The assistant referees are Aurélien Drouet and Camille Soriano, with Abdelatif Kherradji as fourth official and Mathieu Vernice the video assistant referee. Benoit Millot is the assistant video assistant referee.
Is England vs Senegal on TV?
Yes, England vs Senegal is on terrestrial television. Build-up starts on ITV1 and ITVX at 7pm, with kick-off at 7.45pm. Mark Pougatch will present the show, with Roy Keane and Ian Wright on pundit duty, and commentary by Sam Matterface and Lee Dixon.