Rebecca Welch: Referee will be the first female referee of Premier League football game, it has been announced

Rebecca Welch will refer Fulham’s upcoming game against Burnley, it has been announced, making her the first woman to referee a Premier League football match.

This will not be the first time Welch has made history on the football field. She also became the first woman to referee an English Football League game two-and-a-half years ago, when she took charge of a League Two fixture between Harrogate Town and Port Vale. Welch will now take charge of a top-flight fixture, which is scheduled to kick off at 3pm on Saturday December 23 at Craven Cottage, Fulham F.C's home ground in Fulham, West London.

The news comes just days after Indhu Rubasingham was announced as the first female director of the National Theatre. She will be the first woman to take on this top role in the theatre's 60-year history.

During the festive period, Sam Allison will also become the first black referee in the top flight since Uriah Rennie in 2008 when he takes charge of Sheffield United vs Luton Town on Boxing Day (December 26). Welch and Allison will become the fourth and fifth referees, respectively, from Select Group 2 to take charge of a Premier League fixture this season, following in the footsteps of Sam Barrott, Bobby Madley and Josh Smith.

Howard Webb, the head of Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL), said: “Both Rebecca and Sam were part of the development group that was created last year. 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."

He added that Welch will be joined in the game by other female professionals. “Of course, it’s significant in terms of Rebecca being the first female to take the whistle in the Premier Leagues. 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 Dowle 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.

Speaking about Allison, he said: "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."

He added: “The profile of the game will serve as a role model for others in under-represented 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.”