Rebecca Welch to become Premier League’s first female referee

Rebecca Welch will become the first female referee for a Premier League fixture when she officiates Fulham’s match against Burnley on 23 December.
Welch, 40, began refereeing in 2010, and in January became the first woman to referee a men’s Championship game.
Sam Allison will also take charge of a top-flight match in December, making him the Premier League’s first black referee for 15 years.
He will oversee Sheffield United’s match against Fulham on 26 December.
Uriah Rennie – the league’s last black referee – retired from officiating in English football’s top four divisions in 2009. The EFL’s last non-white referee – Jarnail Singh – retired in 2010.
In July, the Football Association laid out plans to recruit 50% more referees from “historically under-represented” backgrounds by 2026, targeting an increase of 1,000 women referees and 1,000 black or Asian referees at all levels of football in three years.
Currently, 8% of officials are of black or Asian ethnicity, but only 3% in professional football. No black or Asian referee has taken charge of a Premier League game since Rennie’s final match in 2008.
Former firefighter Allison, who has previously spoken about encouraging more officials from under-represented backgrounds, was promoted to the Football League in 2020 and was moved up to the Championship earlier this year.
Welch has also refereed in the Championship this year, as well as taking charge of Women’s Super League and Women’s Champions League matches and refereeing at the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in the summer.