Ms. Mukanza Salima was once again praised and featured in the hearts of many, after last night as the first African woman to be refereeing in the final of the World Cup.
Salima, 34-years-old
Rwandan official, was the fourth referee in the team D big match, the French
team beat Australia 4-1, she guided the replacement of the players and the
completion of the additional minutes.
In front of
40,875 fans who had gathered at Al Janoub Stadium, Salima appeared quietly as
usual, where she exchanged frequent signs showing players who had to leave the
game and those to replace them and minutes added to both parts of the game.
In the
French-Australia match, each team replaced 5 players, 45 minutes of the first
half added 6 minutes and the usual 90 minutes of the game were added 8 minutes.
In the
middle game, Mukansanga Salima appeared asking French coach Didier Deschamps to
calm and facilitate referee Victor Gomez from South Africa who was a field
judge
After the
game, Salima was praised by many including the African Football Association CAF,
FERWAFA, various celebrities including entrepreneurs, great journalists, and
many others.
On the CAF
website, they said, “Salima Mukanka continues to make us proud. She was the
first woman to officiate at the total energies AFCON, and the first African
woman to be feature at the FIFA World Cup.''