Historic lady ref's progress followed by Badenoch's very own!
As France's Stephanie Frappart became the first woman to referee a match at the men's World Cup yesterday, taking charge of the clash between Germany and Costa Rica, she was being watched by Badenoch's own pioneering lady ref.
The 38-year-old French history-maker led an all-female on-field team for the Group E match at Al Bayt Stadium, with Brazil's Neuza Back and Mexican Karen Diaz Medina chosen as her assistants, much to the approval of Lyn MacIntosh.
FIFA’s appointments were hailed as a breakthrough for gender equality but the woman whose family have run the Tuck Shop in Newtonmore for many years wondered what the fuss was about – she had after all, refereed men’s games decades ago, and so well that even the greatest footballer of all time just had to meet her!
“Pele asked to see me,” laughed Lyn as she blew the whistle on her secret past. I was in the United States with my RAF husband Dave who happened to be an accredited soccer referee in the 1960s forces leagues.
“By the 1970s the sport was booming there and they needed help officiating at inter-collegiate games. That’s how I got my FIFA accreditation. Pele, playing with the New York Cosmos, was impressed – and I got to meet Eusebio, too!
“I got some stick from the players, but they got over it and I got on with the job. I loved it.”
Back in the UK, Lyn found herself in the Stone Age of sports gender equality and she was ‘not required’. Only when she went to Canada later was she in demand again, refereeing minor league games right through the 1980s.
