For history: Rebecca Welch became the first woman to referee a Premier League match

Rebecca Welch made history this Saturday by becoming the first woman to referee a Premier League match. That was in the game Fulham lost 2-0 against Burnley, for the eighteenth day of competition. It was a sober performance for the native of the city of Washington, on the outskirts of Sunderland: with no penalties or red cards, she only had to book three players. The French Wilson Odobert and Norwegian Sander Berge They were the authors of the two goals in the afternoon at the stadium Craven Cottage From London

Welch, 40, has broken another barrier in his career. She was the first to referee a match in the fourth tier of English football (Port Vale vs Harrogate) and also refereed several matches in the Second Division (Championship). She has been managing since 2010, but continued to work in the National Health Service (NHS) until 2019, before focusing full time on her career as a professional footballer.

She had already entered the history books when she was appointed to lead a party in the FA Cup masculine, when Birmingham AND Plymouth They met in the third round on 8 January 2022.

Craven Cottage apparently suits her, given that last November she was the fourth referee during Fulham’s 1-0 defeat against Manchester United, which was also their first in the land of football’s inventors.

His appointment for this duel on the eighteenth day of the Premier League was another milestone in his career as the top English competition catches up with the football of other leagues such as the German or French ones which already had women refereeing their matches.

It is the case of Bibiana Steinhausin the Bundesliga, six years ago, o Stephanie Frappardin France, which he has managed in Ligue 1 since 2019 and also had experience at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Source: agencies