Chelsea manager Frank Lampard is looking forward to witnessing what he believes will be a "historic moment" in football on Wednesday night.
Stéphanie Frappart will become the first woman to referee a major European men’s game when she takes charge of the UEFA Super Cup final clash between Liverpool and Chelsea in Istanbul.
The French official will be joined by assistants; compatriot Manuela Nicolosi and Ireland’s Michelle O’Neill, who both worked with her in last month’s Women’s World Cup final.
"It's great news, great news," said Lampard at the official pre-match press conference in Turkey. "I'm very pleased to be part of this moment in history which is very much [over] due.
"I think the game has come on a long way, in many ways, in terms of the Women's World Cup which we all watched this summer. In terms of how much respect the games getting, how many people are watching it, the interest in the game."
While Lampard feels it is a positive move he also admits that there is still a lot to more work to do to with regard to achieving equality in the game.
"I think we were very slow everywhere on this and now we are trying to make strides and there is still a long way to go but in terms of tomorrow I think it's a huge moment.
"It should be very well addressed and we're all very pleased. I'm pleased, we [at Chelsea] are pleased. It's a historic moment that is one more step in the right direction, I would say."
Frank Lampard watches his players during a training session at the Besiktas Park Stadium, in Istanbul - AP Photo/Thanassis StavrakisN’Golo Kante, Toni Rudiger and Willian have all travelled with the Blues squad.
The latter pair have stepped up their rehabilitation work while the Frenchman had a brief cameo in Sunday's Premier League defeat at Old Trafford.
Lampard revealed that a further knock sustained by Kante at the weekend had delayed his full return further.
"The selection of Kante on the bench [against Manchester United] was because he’d missed a big part of pre-season and the whole of his off-season so he wasn’t ready," Lampard said.
"He actually picked up another small injury in the game, which is always a danger when you’re trying to bring players back, so we’re assessing that for tomorrow and I have to make a decision with him this evening.
"Willian and Rudiger are here with us but they’re in different stages of recovery.
"Willian is not far from being fit, his injury has healed but it’s tough to bring him back for such a high-intensity match. He’ll be working through this week to build his fitness and will be on the bench tomorrow.
"It's a similar situation with Rudiger but we felt it was important for us to bring them here because they were a big part of the success last season."
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