Ferrieri Caputi Makes History As First Female Referee In Italy’s Serie A

One hundred twenty-four years after its creation, Italy’s Serie A will have its first female referee.

On Sunday, Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi will make history for being the first woman to ever officiate a game in Italy’s top-flight.

A Livorno, Tuscany native, Ferrieri Caputi rapidly climbed the hierarchy of Italian soccer.

After spending a few years in the amateur divisions, in 2020 she reached the first milestone of her promising career, as she was selected to officiate a professional match in Italy’s Serie C.

Ferrieri Caputi’s preparation and determination immediately impressed AIA, the Italian Referees’ Association, who did not think twice about promoting her to the next stage: In October 2021, she officiated the game between Cittadella and SPAL in Serie B, the country’s second-tier of soccer.

Fast forward a year, and Ferrieri Caputi, now 31, is ready to make her debut in Italy’s highest division of soccer.

On Sunday, Oct. 2, she will blow the kick-off whistle of the Sassuolo-Salernitana match, marking a very significant moment in the history of Serie A.

Ferrieri Caputi’s appointment to Serie A is an indicator of the gradual rise of female referees, not just in Italy but in the entire European soccer landscape.

Back in December 2020, French referee Stéphanie Frappart became the first woman to oversee a match in the UEFA Champions League, Europe’s most prestigious club tournament. The same week, the Europa League fixture between Gent and Liberec went down as the first UEFA match to be entirely directed by women, with Ukrainian main match official Kateryna Monzul being assisted by Oleksandra Ardasheva and Maryna Striletska.

The next big stage is represented by the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the most ambitious and remunerative competition in world soccer. For the tournament, which will be held in Qatar from Nov. 20 to Dec. 18, 2022, FIFA has appointed a total of six female match officials, three of whom as referees and the remaining three as assistant referees.

Alongside Frappart, Rwanda’s Salima Mukansanga and Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita were called up as referees, while Brazil’s Neuza Back, Mexico’s Karen Diaz Medina and Philadelphia native Kathryn Nesbitt will be listed as assistant referees.