Welch first woman referee in Premier League as fourth official،
Rebecca Welch will become the first female referee to be involved in a Premier League match when she acts as fourth official for Saturday’s match between Fulham and Manchester United at Craven Cottage.
Wendy Toms was the first woman to referee in the Premier League since its inception and was joined by others including Sian Massey-Ellis. Welch will be the first to take on one of the refereeing roles.
The 39-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise this year, becoming the first woman to win a Championship match in January, between Birmingham City and Preston North End.
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Welch was then selected to referee the Women’s World Cup, appointed for three matches, including the round of 16 match between Australia and Denmark. His hopes of refereeing further matches in the tournament were effectively ended when England reached the final.
North Riding referee Welch was offered promotion to the EFL as an assistant referee in 2017, but chose to become a referee and progress into the men’s game that way. She officiated in the National League, the fifth tier of English football, during the 2018-19 season, while also continuing in women’s football.
She took charge of the Women’s FA Cup final in 2017 and 2020, and was promoted to the elite category of UEFA women’s referees in 2020, when she left her administrative role within the National Service health.
In 2021, she became the first woman to referee a professional match in England, as Port Vale beat Harrogate Town in League Two.
This is a further step by PGMOL, England’s refereeing body, to increase diversity in the professional game. In January, Bhupinder Singh Gill became the first Sikh-Punjabi to act as an assistant referee in the Premier League.
PGMOL has also accelerated the recruitment of promising referees who have excelled in the lower leagues up to the Premier League this season. Sam Barrott had only refereed 10 Championship matches before being elevated to the top flight last month at the age of 30. A former Halifax Town youth player, he was only promoted to the EFL in 2020.
