Next Saturday, December 23, referee Rebecca Welch will become the first woman to referee a Premier League match, between Fulham and Burnley.
As reported by the English competition in a statement, Welch, 40, will make history by calling that duel in west London, while referee Sam Allison will also mark a milestone by being the first black man to officiate a match in the Premier for 15 years.
Welch has been a referee since 2010 and combined that work for a time with her work in public health (NHS), before leaving to dedicate herself completely to refereeing.
Last January he already made history by refereeing a match in the Championship, English second division, although before that he had already broken another glass ceiling in 2021, when he officiated a fourth division clash between Harrogate Town and Port Vale.
In November, Welch had achieved another milestone with his appearance in the role of fourth official in the Premier League match between Fulham and Manchester United.
Welch has refereed important matches in the Women’s Super League, as well as the Women’s FA Cup finals in 2017 and 2020, at Wembley Stadium.
Allison, for his part, will referee the match between Sheffield United and Luton Town on Boxing Day, December 26, one of the most traditional days in English football, thus becoming the first black referee in the competition since Uriah Rennie , who retired in 2008.
Last July, the Football Association committed to hiring 50% more referees from “historically underrepresented” backgrounds by 2026.
