A female referee will preside over a men’s reserve game between CSKA Moscow and Lokomotiv Moscow, in what is believed to be the first instance of its kind in Russia, the Russian Football Union said Wednesday.
Anastasia Pustovoitova, a FIFA-certified referee who has officiated women’s international matches, will take charge of the game Friday, even though she has previously said that she is against the idea.
The federation’s plan is for women to eventually referee Russian Premier League games.
“If everything turns out successfully for them, then we can advance women to the top flight,” Roberto Rosetti, head of refereeing at the Russian Football Union, said in a statement last week.
Speaking in February 2011, Pustovoitova said she disagreed with women refereeing men’s matches.
“I view it very skeptically. My opinion is that only male referees should work in Russian men’s football,” she told the Football Segodnya website.
“The speed is different there and the psychology is completely different. Yes, and there are plenty of male referees, so let it stay as it is.”
Pustovoitova is best known for refereeing the final of the 2010 women’s under-17 European Championships, and was named Russia’s top female official that year.
In England, Amy Fearn became the first woman to take charge of a men’s Football League game when she replaced an injured referee in a Championship clash between Coventry City and Nottingham Forest in 2010.
