Welch to become first woman to referee in Premier League
Rebecca Welch will become the first woman to referee a Premier League game when she takes charge of Fulham vs. Burnley on Dec. 23.
Sam Allison will also become the first Black referee in 15 years to be involved in a top-flight game, following in the footsteps of Uriah Rennie. He will take charge of Sheffield United vs. Luton Town on Dec. 26.
Wendy Toms was the first woman assistant to run the line in the Premier League in the 1990s and was followed more recently by Natalie Aspinall and Sian Massey-Ellis.
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Last month, Welch became the first woman to act as fourth official when she was at the technical area for Fulham's game against Manchester United, and now she has been given a game of her own.
"Rebecca is a really calm, focused individual on the field," referees' chief Howard Webb said. "She does command a lot of respect in a pretty understated way. She has a good reading of the game; she is an accurate decision-maker, a good athlete on the field, too.
"When you meet her, she's not got huge stature in terms of being really tall, but she has a presence about her. She's a really determined official. She is similar in some ways to Stephanie Frappart, the French official who has worked on the Champions League this year.
"She's worked hard physically, technically and really does deserve this opportunity. I went to see her myself recently in a game in the Championship and was highly impressed by what I saw in terms of her command of the game, good reading of the game, good subtle management of the players as well, and I've got no doubt she'll show all of those qualities at Fulham."
The 39-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise this year, in January becoming the first woman to take charge of a Championship game, between Birmingham City and Preston North End.
It marks a further step by PGMOL, the refereeing body in England, to increase diversity in the professional game. In January, Bhupinder Singh Gill became the first Sikh-Punjabi to act an assistant referee in the Premier League.
PGMOL has also fast-tracked promising referees who have shone in lower leagues through to the Premier League this season. Sam Barrott had refereed just 10 matches in the Championship 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.
"Both Rebecca and Sam were part of the development group that was created last year," Webb added. "They went through a selection process to be part of that. Credit to them, they have delivered good performances in the Championship this season and deserve their opportunities due to their quality and the talent that they have.
"Of course, it's significant in terms of Rebecca being the first female to take the whistle in the Premier League; she was the fourth official a few weeks ago for the first time, and we have lots of talented female officials working in the game. We have Kirsty Dowell taking charge of her first Football League game this weekend at Doncaster Rovers; she's another FIFA-registered official.
"I just hope that other people will see the success of these female officials, young girls and young women, and think that refereeing might be for them.
"Sam being the first Black referee in the Premier League since Uriah Rennie back in 2008, again, we know he has performed well in the Championship this year at a consistent level, and we are confident he will deliver a strong performance.
"The profile of the game will serve as a role model for others in underrepresented communities, and that is undoubtedly a positive. We need greater diversity because undoubtedly there is quality in all communities and previously for whatever reason we have not been able to bring people through from those groups and now it's happening at last thankfully."