Rebecca Welch

Rebecca Welch (born 1 December 1983) is an English football referee.

Born in Washington, Tyne and Wear, she became the first woman to referee an English Football League match, when she did so for a League Two match between Harrogate Town and Port Vale in 2021. In December 2023, Welch became the first woman to referee a Premier League match.

Career
Having worked as an administrator with the NHS Business Services Authority, Welch became a football referee in 2010, but continued to work in her NHS post until becoming a full-time referee in 2019. She had played football from a young age, and studied to be a referee with Durham County Football Association. Her first two matches were women's university games, followed by a Sunday League match in Sunderland, something she has described as being "a completely different kettle of fish" compared to the university games.

During her career as a referee she has officiated at games in the Women's Super League, and was referee at the 2017 and 2020 Women's FA Cup finals. She also officiated at the 2020 FA Women's Community Shield. Since the 2018–19 National League season, she has refereed at several men's National League matches. In December 2020, she was added to UEFA's elite women's list, joining other female football officials to referee at international games, including Stéphanie Frappart of France and Bibiana Steinhaus of Germany.

Welch's appointment to referee the Harrogate v Port Vale match was announced by the Football Association on 30 March 2021. The announcement made Welch the first woman to be appointed to referee an English Football League game, though not the first woman to referee during a game. Amy Fearn was substituted to referee the final 20 minutes of a match between Coventry City and Nottingham Forest in February 2010 when the original referee was taken off due to injury.

On 29 December 2021, it was announced that Welch would be the first woman to officiate a third round men's FA Cup match. The game in question, between Birmingham City and Plymouth Argyle, was played on 8 January 2022.

On 9 January 2023, FIFA appointed her to the officiating pool for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

In November 2023, Welch was allegedly the subject of misogynistic chanting during a match between Birmingham City and Sheffield Wednesday; two 17 year olds were subsequently arrested.

On 23 December 2023, Welch became the first woman to referee in the Premier League, officiating in a fixture between Fulham and Burnley. She was congratulated by the Burnley manager, Vincent Kompany, after the match. On 8 March 2024, it was announced that Welch would be inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame.

In April 2024 it was announced that Welch would officiate at the upcoming Olympics. On 13 May 2024 Welch was named as referee for the UEFA Women’s Champions League final between Barcelona and Lyon to be played in Spain at Bilbao's San Mamés on 25 May.