Who is Rebecca Welch? The referee making history in Premier League
Rebecca Welch will be making history as the first woman to take charge of a Premier League football match when Fulham take on Burnley on 23 December.
Born in Washington, in Tyne and Wear, she became a referee in 2010 and used to balance it with her job in the NHS before becoming a full-time official.
The 40-year-old is no stranger to firsts in football, having been the first woman to referee in the Football League, FA Cup third round and to be appointed as a Championship referee.
She used to play football, but did not think about officiating until she was taken to task for criticising a friend as she did the job.
“I played football and didn’t even think about refereeing until one of my really good friends, who is a referee, refereed us,” Welch recalled in an interview with the Football Association website in March 2021.
“I spent the whole game telling her how to do her job! Her response was, ‘If you think it’s that easy, give it a go’. That’s how it happened and 10 years later, here I am.”
She gained her badges with the Durham County Football Association and then began taking charge of university games and in Sunday Leagues begore quickly climbing through the ranks.
Promoted to UEFA's elite women's list in December 2020, she has also refereed in the Women's World Cup in 2023, in two Women's FA Cup finals and in Euro 2022.
In 2021, when she became the first female to be appointed to a Football League match, she told ITV Tyne Tees: "I do think it's important that we highlight it as a good opportunity for young girls who are maybe thinking about taking up a whistle or are already referees and they aspire to be football league referees."
What else has Welch achieved?
First woman to act as a fourth official in Premier League match.
In January 2023 she became the first woman appointed to referee a Championship match when Birmingham played Preston. However, she was not the first woman to referee in the Championship. Amy Fearn took charge of the final 20 minutes of Coventry vs Nottingham Forest during a match in 2010 following an injury to appointed referee Tony Bates.
In 2021 she was the first woman to be appointed to referee a match in the Football League for the Sky Bet League Two fixture between Harrogate and Port Vale.
The first woman to referee in the third round of the FA Cup. She was in charge when Birmingham played Plymouth in January 2022.
On Monday 9 January, Welch was named as one of three English female officials appointed to the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, alongside assistant referee Natalie Aspinall and video match official Sian Massey-Ellis.
Welch has refereed two Women's FA Cup finals in 2017 and 2020, and was one of three English officials at Euro 2022 last summer.
What has the reaction been to her latest appointment?
Eddie Howe, the Newcastle United head coach, said: “I think it’s a great moment.
“For me, it’s got to be based on ability, not gender, ability to referee and I fully support it.”
His Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola said: “It’s an excellent idea. It’s more than welcome. Hopefully in the future there can be more (female referees in the Premier League).”
“It’s certainly a benchmark and milestone,” Burnley boss Vincent Kompany said of Welch’s top-flight bow in the middle.
“I think she’ll take great pride in having done it herself. There’s a lot of women – in general, but in the game as well specifically – who will see this as a way to achieve at the highest level.
“I am always pro any kind of extension anyway because what it does is widen the pool of talent.
“We need access to all the available talent, the best referees in the best league in the world.”
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...