EPL Announce Welch To Become First Female Ref, Allison First Black Official In 15 Years

Rebecca Welch will become the Premier League’s first female referee, while Sam Allison will become the first black match official in 15 years.

Welch will officiate Fulham vs. Burnley at Craven Cottage on December 23, as the FA and Premier League have announced. By making this move, she will become the first female referee to ever officiate a game in England’s top league. But Allison will be the first black official to oversee a Premier League game since Uriah Rennie in 2008 when he takes charge for the Sheffield United vs. Luton Town match on Boxing Day.

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Welch made history in April 2021 when she was assigned to officiate a Championship game and in January 2022 when she took command of a men’s FA Cup match. Welch was also named the fourth official for Manchester United’s 1-0 victory against Fulham. In addition to serving as a regular WSL referee, the 40-year-old made appearances at the Women’s World Cup earlier this year.

After spending several years in the lesser leagues, Allison will move up to the Premier League. He was promoted from the Championship at the start of the 2023–24 season, and he will now be temporarily promoted to the Premier League.

PGMOL head of referees Howard Webb said: “They are both part of the PGMOL development group which fast-tracks talented officials through the pathway,” Webb told Sky Sports. “We have already seen three officials from the group take charge of their first Premier League games and now we have number four and five and it shows the value of that work.

“We have not seen a female take charge of a Premier League game before so it’s significant, and Sam being the first Black official with a whistle in the Premier League since Uriah Rennie. It demonstrates people can make it through the pathway from groups that are not traditionally well represented.”

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) is the organisation in charge of officiating English professional football matches. Under the direction of former official Howard Webb, the PGMOL has been working to diversify the officials in both the top division and all FA competitions.

The duo will definitely be looking forward to the festive period as they will be involved during a crunch period of games around Christmas and New Year. The appointment of the two officials certainly feels like a pivotal moment and there may be more opportunities for both as the season progresses.