Rebecca Welch is set to become the first female referee to officiate an English Premier League match on Dec. 23 Saturday when she takes charge of Fulham’s home game against Burnley.
Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) confirmed the appointment on Thursday and also said Sam Allison would become the first black official to take charge of a Premier League match for 15 years.
Allison is due to referee Sheffield United against Luton Town on Dec. 26.
Photo: AP
PGMOL head of referees Howard Webb said both Welch and Allison deserved their chance.
“They are both part of the PGMOL development group which fast-tracks talented officials through the pathway,” Webb told Sky Sports.
“We have already seen three officials from the group take charge of their first Premier League games and now we have No. 4 and 5, and it shows the value of that work,” Webb said.
“We have not seen a female take charge of a Premier League game before so it’s significant, and Sam being the first black official with a whistle in the Premier League since Uriah Rennie. It demonstrates people can make it through the pathway from groups that are not traditionally well represented,” he said.
Welch has been a trailblazer for female referees and last month was the fourth official for Fulham against Manchester United in the Premier League, the first female to fulfill that role.
The 40-year-old, a regular in the Women’s Super League, has previously officiated in the Football League and the FA Cup, and was on duty at the FIFA Women’s World Cup earlier this year.
PGMOL has made greater diversity one of its aims and Allison is to become the first black referee in the Premier League since Rennie retired in 2009.
Allison, a former firefighter, was promoted to the Football League in 2020 and moved up to the second-tier Championship earlier this year.
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