Wendy Toms became the first woman to be an assistant referee in the top flight in 1997 before being joined by Sian Massey-Ellis and Natalie Aspinall; Rebecca Welch, 39, made history in January by becoming the first female to take charge of a Championship fixture
Thursday 2 November 2023 16:59, UK
Rebecca Welch will become the first female referee for a Premier League game when she acts as the fourth official for Saturday's match between Fulham and Manchester United at Craven Cottage.
Wendy Toms became the first woman to be an assistant referee in the top flight in 1997 before being joined by Sian Massey-Ellis and Natalie Aspinall.
The pathway for a referee is different and Welch, 39, made history in January by becoming the first female to take charge of a Championship fixture.
Welch was then selected to referee at the Women's World Cup where she was appointed to three matches including the Round of 16 tie between co-hosts Australia and Denmark.
Welch took charge of the Women's FA Cup final in 2017 and 2020 and was promoted to UEFA's elite category of female referees that year when she left her job as an administrator in the National Health Service.
In 2021, she became the first female to referee a professional game in England between Port Vale and Harrogate Town in League Two.
It's the latest step taken by the PGMOL to increase diversity in the professional game after Bhupinder Singh Gill became the first Sikh-Punjabi to act an assistant referee in the Premier League in January.
