Fans have showered much praise on Liverpool defender Vigil Van Dijk for his fair comments about Stephanie Frappart, who will officiate their Super Cup final match against Chelsea.
Frappart will become the first female to officiate a major UEFA men’s match when Lampard’s side face the European champions in Istanbul.
The 35-year-old will be assisted by her French compatriot Manuela Nicolosi and Ireland’s Michelle O’Neill.
The trio have worked together at bigger matches – they were in charge of this year’s Women’s World Cup final in France – but there is no doubt they will be under intense focus at Istanbul’s Vodafone Park.
When asked about Stephanie Frappart becoming the first female official to referee a major UEFA men’s event, Van Dijk gave a pleasing comment that left fans applauding his attitude.
“I think gender is irrelevant if the quality is there and it is there because otherwise, you wouldn’t get the game then it doesn’t really matter. If you look at her CV as well, I think she has been doing so many good games and they made probably the right decision and what I said before, gender doesn’t matter at all,” stated Dijk.
"Gender is irrelevant."
Virgil van Dijk when asked about Stephanie Frappart becoming the first female official to referee a major UEFA men's event 🙌 #SuperCup #OptusSport pic.twitter.com/TCBor7J04B
— Optus Sport (@OptusSport) August 13, 2019
Check out the reaction of fans on Van Dijk’s remarks;
Well he’s right.. and best of luck to Stephanie
— Callum Ramsay (@Bombers83) August 13, 2019
Yep, 100% agree pic.twitter.com/pwFtZnYLP1
— Bedford_Mag (@labpedro) August 13, 2019
Right answer. If they’re good enough to do the job gender should not come into it.
— Anthony Stone (@Anthony_S29) August 13, 2019
If you’re qualified, that’s all that matters – he is right, gender is irrelevant
— Tristan Paglianiti (@TristanPaglian1) August 13, 2019
💯% agree!
— Nik Storey (@Nik_Storey) August 13, 2019
Tell them Eleni has been doing it in the @afl for a few years – they need to keep up with the times.
— Con Sotidis (@LearnKotch) August 13, 2019
What a guy
— Cian Geary (@ciangeary) August 13, 2019
Requirements: two eyes. Not hard. Let’s move on.
— Danny Wilson 🇦🇺🇫🇷 (@DNWilson1991) August 14, 2019
Frappart also became the first female referee to officiate a French league match in April. She has been promoted to the pool of French top-flight referees on a permanent basis for the upcoming season.