Bibiana Steinhaus, the World's Best Female Football Referee of the Last Decade

Referees are the most important element in a football match. Referees have the authority to control the game. Their presence as judges is needed to ensure fair play for both teams.

Based on the assessment of the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), here are the 5 best female referees in football:

1. Bibiana Steinhaus, Germany

Bibiana Steinhaus, a German football referee, won the award for the best female referee in the world in the decade 2011-2020. Based on the assessment of the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), she received the highest score of 171 points.

Bibiana Steinhaus won the IFFHS annual award for the world's best referee four times: in 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018. In 2011, she was the first woman to referee the FIFA Women's World Cup Final.

In 2012, she was the first woman to referee the Women's Olympic Summer Football Final. Then in 2017, she became the first woman in history to referee a men's match in the German Bundesliga and also the first woman to officiate a German men's Super Cup Final between FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

2. Esther Staubli, Switzerland

Esther Staubli from Switzerland ranked second in the world ranking of the best female referees in the decade 2011-2020 with a score of 135 points. Although she never won the annual award during the decade, she consistently ranked in the world's top 10 every year, achieving second place in 2017 and 2020.

The 36-year-old referee is said to be the first woman to lead the most prestigious and high-level football events in Europe.

3. Kateryna Monzul, Ukraine

Third place is occupied by Kateryna Monzul, a female referee from Ukraine, who scored 124 points. She officiated her first international match in September 2005, Finland versus Poland in the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifiers.

Monzul refereed the opening match of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. This marked her debut in the competition as the main referee, where she awarded a controversial penalty kick in injury time to the host country, Canada, who scored to defeat China 1-0.

4. Stephanie Frappart, France

Next, in fourth place is Stephanie Frappart from France with a score of 88 points. Since 2019, Stephanie Frappart has dominated the rankings of the world's best female referees.

In 2021, she won the IFFHS award again. In 2021, Frappart became the first woman to officiate in the final of the UEFA Men's Euro.

She was the first referee for the Men's European Super Cup Liverpool - Chelsea and for the men's Champions League competition match Juventus - Kiev. Her example has given other female referees around the world the opportunity to lead the greatest men's competitions on all continents.

5. Katalin Kulcsár, Hungary

Katalin Anna Kulcsár is a Hungarian football referee. She ranks fifth as the best female referee with a score of 78 points.

She officiated her first international match in September 2004, Malta versus Bosnia and Herzegovina. She also refereed the final of the UEFA Women's U-17 Championship in 2009.

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