Rebecca Welch to become first woman Premier League referee by officiating Fulham

Rebecca Welch became the first woman to work as fourth official at a Premier League match during Man Utd’s win at Fulham last month; Welch was also the first woman to take charge of an EFL and men’s FA Cup match

Rebecca Welch will become the first woman to referee a Premier League match when she officiates Fulham vs Burnley on Saturday afternoon.

Welch has long been a trailblazer in men’s football, having become the first woman to be appointed to referee an EFL match in April 2021 and the first to take charge of a men’s FA Cup fixture in January 2022.

Welch was also appointed as the fourth official for Manchester United’s 1-0 win at Fulham in November – the first woman to carry out the role in the Premier League.

The 40-year-old has also previously refereed in the National League, while she regularly officiates in the WSL and appeared at the Women’s World Cup earlier this year.

Under Howard Webb, the PGMOL – the body that oversees Premier League match officials – has sought to increase diversity.

Sam Allison will also become the first Black official to referee a Premier League game since Uriah Rennie in 2008 when he takes charge of Sheffield United vs Luton on Boxing Day.

In January, Bhupinder Singh Gill became the first Sikh-Punjabi to officiate in the Premier League when he was appointed as an assistant referee for Nottingham Forest’s trip to Southampton.

The FA has also pledged to increase diversity among officials and hopes to recruit 1,000 new referees from diverse backgrounds in the next three years.​​​​​​

Welch’s pathway to the top

Wendy Toms became the first woman to be an assistant referee in the top flight in 1997 before being joined by Amy Fearn, Sian Massey-Ellis and Natalie Aspinall.

The pathway for a referee is different and Welch made history in January by becoming the first female to take charge of a Championship fixture.

Welch was then selected to referee at the Women’s World Cup where she was appointed to three matches including the last-16 tie between co-hosts Australia and Denmark.

Welch took charge of the Women’s FA Cup final in 2017 and 2020 and was promoted to UEFA’s elite category of female referees that year when she left her job as an administrator in the National Health Service.

In 2021, she became the first female to referee a professional game in England between Port Vale and…