When Rebecca Welch blew the whistle during Fulham’s match against Burnley at Craven Cottage on Saturday, she became the first female referee of a football match in the English Premier League.
In 2010, Welch, forty-year-old from Washington in northeastern England, started her career as a referee while employed by the National Health Service.
She advanced through the refereeing levels and, in 2021, officiated the English Football League’s fourth-tier match between Harrogate and Port Vale, becoming the league’s first female referee.
Welch was also the first female official to officiate FA Cup third-round matches and Championship games.
She made Premier League history last month when she officiated Fulham’s match against Manchester United, becoming the first woman to serve as a fourth official in a match.
Welch has also overseen a number of prominent women’s matches, such as those at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
