UCL Preview: Kane v Bellingham, Kylian's parting gift and the most heavyweight of battles
The UEFA Champions League is the gift that keeps giving for football fans: few major tournaments in any sport can claim to so consistently…
Rebecca Welch is to become the first female referee to officiate in a Premier League match when she takes charge of Fulham’s home game against Burnley on December 23.
The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) confirmed the appointment on Thursday, while also saying that Sam Allison would become the first Black official to take charge of a Premier match for 15 years.
Allison will be the referee for Sheffield United against Luton Town on Boxing Day.
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 fulfil 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 women’s World Cup this year.
Welch has been a referee since 2010, initially balancing the role with her job in the National Health Service before becoming a full-time match official.
Other countries have been using female referees for years. In Germany, Bibiana Steinhaus was the first woman to referee a Bundesliga game, in 2017.
Steinhaus is married to Howard Webb, who is the current chief refereeing officer of the top refereeing body in England.
French referee Stephanie Frappart became the first woman to take charge of a men’s World Cup game when she officiated in the Germany-Costa Rica match in November last year, having previously done games in the Champions League and in the French league since 2019.
The PGMOL has made greater diversity one of its aims and Allison will become the first Black referee in the Premier League since the retirement of Uriah Rennie in 2009.
© AAP
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
The UEFA Champions League is the gift that keeps giving for football fans: few major tournaments in any sport can claim to so consistently…
Joe Lolley was outstanding for the Sky Blues, scoring a brace as Sydney FC equaled their biggest ever victory.
Eight trophies is nothing to be sneered at, but can Klopp’s name can be mentioned among the best managers in the Premier League era?
The Matilda scored the first two of her team's goals in the 4-0 win.
With the Liverpool manager leaving the club after this season, his West Ham rival can't wait for him to go - in the nicest…
Arsenal have survived a late scare at Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham to stay narrowly ahead in the compelling race for the Premier League title. A…