Football referee Rebecca Welch will become the first woman to referee an English league match when Fulham, coached by Portuguese Marco Silva, host Burnley on December 23.
The English federation noted in a statement the historic moment that 40-year-old Rebecca Welch’s Premier League debut represented, but also highlighted the fact that referee Sam Ellison was the first black person to oversee a game in the competition. in 15 years.
Rebecca Welch has been an arbitrator since 2010 and spent some time combining this work with work for the National Health Service in England (NHS) before deciding to devote herself full-time to arbitration.
Last January he made history by refereeing a Championship, English Second Division match, and before that, in 2021, he refereed a Fourth Division match between Harrogate Town and Port Vale.
In November, Welch achieved another milestone by serving as fourth official in the Premier League match between Fulham and Manchester United, as well as overseeing important Women’s Super League games, notably the 2017 and 2020 Women’s FA Cup Finals. took place at Wembley Stadium.
Ellison, in turn, will referee the match between Sheffield United and Luton Town on Boxing Day, December 26, one of the most traditional days in English football, thus becoming the first black referee at the tournament since Uriah Rennie, who renovated it in 2008.
Last July, the English FA committed to recruiting 50% more referees from “historically underrepresented” backgrounds by 2026.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Tifany Hawkins, a professional journalist with years of experience in news reporting. I currently work for a prominent news website and write articles for 24NewsReporters as an author. My primary focus is on economy-related stories, though I am also experienced in several other areas of journalism.