Premier League to have first female referee as role in Man Utd clash confirmed
Rebecca Welch will make history as the first female referee to be involved in a Premier League game when she works on Manchester United ’s game against Fulham on Saturday.
Fulham host United in the 12.30pm kick-off, and while most eyes will be on Erik ten Hag on the touchline following a run of dreadful results, Welch will also be present as fourth official. The 39-year-old has risen up the ranks at the PGMOL and, after becoming the first female to take charge of a Championship game in January, she will now become the Premier League’s first full-time female fourth official.
Wendy Toms, Natalie Aspinall and Sian Massey-Ellis have all worked in the top flight as assistant referees previously – and Massey-Ellis will also be working with Welch on Saturday as the assistant VAR from Stockley Park. Welch opted not to follow the assistant pathway and has instead worked her way up as a referee.
She has worked in both the men’s and women’s game and is now progressing rapidly by being given bigger fixtures. Welch took charge of Birmingham vs Preston in the Championship in January and then oversaw three games at the Women’s World Cup in the summer in Australia and New Zealand.
She will work alongside referee John Brooks and assistants Lee Betts and Matthew Wilkes on Saturday. Welch will be tasked with keeping Ten Hag and Fulham boss Marco Silva in order, but would step up and become the referee if Brooks suffered an injury. And, if all goes well, a first Premier League refereeing role could be around the corner.
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As ESPN reports, refereeing body the PGMOL are keen to increase the diversity in officiating at the highest level. In January, Bhupinder Singh Gill became the first Sikh-Punjabi to work as an assistant referee in the Premier League.
Rebecca Welch took charge of three games at the Women's World Cup (Ulrik Pedersen/Getty Images)Welch, from Washington in the north-east of England, started refereeing in 2010. She has been a trailblazer, becoming the first woman to be appointed to take charge of an EFL match when League Two side Port Vale played Harrogate in April 2021. She has also overseen two women's FA Cup finals.
She will become the first woman to be appointed as a fourth official in a Premier League game, but she won’t be the first female fourth official in the division. Back in April 2017, Massey-Ellis acted as a fourth official for the second half of West Ham vs Everton after getting injured running the line in the first half.
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