Rebecca Welch Makes History As First Female Referee In The English Premier League

Rebecca Welch will make history as the first female referee in a Premier League match. (photo: x @Football__Tweet)

JAKARTA - Rebecca Welch will make history on Saturday 23 December by becoming the first female referee in a Premier League match.

Welch will complete his outstanding journey from the playing field north of England to the highest caste as he leads the match between Fulham and Burnley at Craven Cottage.

The 40-year-old woman from Washington, Tyne and Wear, was still working in the NHS administration sector when she started her coaching career in 2010.

Welch won his license through the Durham County Football Association and was promoted after leading Sunday's university and league matches.

More than a decade later and two and a half years after becoming the first woman to be a referee in the English Football League match Welch's decision will be watched by millions of fans around the world.

This is not a place for the weak, but Welch, who became the first woman to act as the fourth referee in a Premier League match in November, made history with the support of Burnley manager Vincent Kompany and Fulham manager Marco Silva.

"This is of course a benchmark and a milestone," said Kompany ahead of his London team's match.

"I think he would be very proud to have done it himself. There are many women - in general, but also in a special game - who will see this as a way to reach the highest level," explained Kompany.

"I always support every type of expansion because what he does is expand the available talent pool. We need access to all available talent, the best referee in the world's best league," he added.

Neither Kompany nor Silva believe that their players will behave differently with Welch in the middle than male colleagues.

"It shouldn't really be about the referee or manager. It should be about the players and, in this case, I can't see why we won't have that normality. Of course, the story is bigger and deserves to be exaggerated, but once the whistle is heard, every actor on that day will want the players to be in the spotlight," said Kompany.

"For us, it will be a normal situation. Of course, this will be the first time everyone should talk about it, but when the game starts, it will be another Premier League game, with people who have good abilities as managers, players, or referees," Silva said.

"We won't even talk about it before the game because for him he was a referee, like when he was the fourth referee a few weeks ago in our game against Manchester United, and for us it was a normal situation," added Silva.

"We must always respect all officials and he will be well received. He got this opportunity because he deserved it and he has the ability to be at the level he will achieve," Silva said.