The face is that of Stephanie Frappart, the first woman to referee a men’s Champions League match. But the stories are many in a year in which women have acquired rights, which they should have had for some time, in sport and have reached positions never reached at the top of the sports world.
STEPHANIE FRAPPART
It has never happened that a woman whistled in a men’s match of the most important football event in Europe. UEFA, which had already awarded her an important match in 2019 such as the Super Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool, entrusted her with the management of Juventus-Dinamo Kiev, Wednesday 2 December, valid for the fifth day of the group stage, and the refereeing was impeccable.
“I know I’m a template, I am pleased to. The girls watch TV, if they are here on the pitch they can see that all this is possible. This is the first thing that will help some girls start refereeing, ”she said in an interview with BBC Sport.
SARA GAMA
In the Italian Serie A there are still no pink referees (only linesmen), on the other hand, however, an important signal has come from the Assocalciatori. Sara Gama, leader of the national team and Juventus, has become vice president of the football union, the first woman to fill this role.
“Another road that opens up for women,” Minister Elena Bonetti wrote on Twitter. “A road that frees energy and opportunities”. The fundamental objective for the new vice president is to increase women’s rights in football. Professionalism already announced by the Federation should arrive from 2022. There is the open question of the difference in economic treatment, but above all that of maternity and welfare denied to many athletes precisely because they are not considered professionals.
Only a few weeks ago, Fifa assured that the players will be guaranteed the maternity leave: they may be 14 weeks old and their club is required to reintegrate them into the team and provide them with medical assistance. “If we really want to encourage and encourage football among women, we must take all these aspects into account. Footballers need not be afraid of losing their jobs or not playing anymore if they choose to have a child. They need stability and security that was not guaranteed in their careers until now. They don’t have to worry about anything when they are ready to take the field again, ”said president Gianni Infantino.
PATRIZIA PANICO
From this summer it is assistant coach of the men’s Under 21 team. Patrizia Panico is the Under 15 coach and is now also part of the Under 21 staff. She works alongside Mirco Gasparetto as deputy in Paolo Nicolato’s staff. She is the only woman on the staff of the seven men’s national soccer teams. She told Corriere della Sera that she calls herself “Mister, as always” and asks the boys to call her her. They are those guys ready to take the step towards Roberto Mancini’s senior national team.
Since she was a child she dreamed of becoming Maradona, she became the top scorer in the Italian league 14 times and has scored more than 800 goals. Now is the highest level woman in professional men’s football in Italy. “A woman’s point of view,” he explains, “can only enrich. This is the job I like to do and soon I hope it will become for everyone, men and women, without distinction ».
ANTONELLA BELLUTTI
To break her crystal ceiling, Antonella Bellutti will have to wait until May 13, 2021. If she succeeds, it will truly be a historical fact. The former cyclist, twice Olympic gold medalist, ran for the presidency of the CONI, the Olympic Committee, a role never held by a woman. To reduce the gender gap, the current president Giovanni Malagò has changed the composition of the junta: at least 4 out of 13 members will be women. “It is not easy to challenge such a consolidated and masculine power system. But it is also a way to express gratitude for all that sport has given me »said Bellutti.
Its history is unique in the history of Italian sport. She has two Olympic gold medals in track cycling: pursuit in Atlanta ’96 and points race in Sydney 2000. She is the only Italian athlete to have been part of the national team of three different federations: athletics, cycling, bobsleigh. He participated in summer and winter Olympics.
“I am very proud to face this candidacy as a woman, athlete, vegan, member of the LGBT + community and with my many diversities I would like to represent an example to be welcomed, not tolerated, useful for an inclusive sport capable of expressing its enormous value in favor of everyone and everyone ». Graduated in Motor Sciences and athletic trainer as well as sports manager, in the four-year period 2000-2004 she was a member of the National Council of Coni and a member of the Commission for Equal Opportunities in Sport and of the Ministerial Anti-Doping Commission.
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