Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita became the first woman referee to officiate a men’s AFC Asian Cup match on Saturday when she took charge of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 Group B game between former champions Australia and India.
Yamashita was supported by assistant referees Makoto Bozono and Naomi Teshirogi, making it an all-female trio who will oversee the encounter at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium.
The trio have already teamed up in club matches at the 2019 AFC Cup, the 2022 AFC Champions League and Japan’s J1 League last year.
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Yamashita, who is the first professional woman referee from Japan, arrived in Doha with the experience of two women’s World Cups under her belt while she was also a match official at the 2022 World Cup.
The 37-year-old is among five officials who will be the first women to referee matches at the men’s Asian Cup, which runs from January 12 to February 10.
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