Premier League’s first female referee Rebecca Welch explains how gender saved her from abuse as the trailblazing official aims women’s refs to become the ‘norm’ in men’s game
As Rebecca Welch looks back on her groundbreaking career as a referee, she is keen to set the record straight.
Welch became the first woman to take charge of a Premier League match when she refereed Fulham’s match with Burnley last season. It was not the first time she had made history, as she did so when she refereed a 2021 League Two match and a Championship match early last year.
Given the abuse referees are often subjected to and the struggles women face in football, it would be easy to assume that Welch’s experiences in men’s football were fraught with difficulties.
But Welch, who was inducted into the National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame on Tuesday, painted a very different picture.
‘I’m always asked if I was treated differently among the men than the male referees and I say: ‘Yes, but it worked to my advantage.’
Rebecca Welch has told how she was ‘treated differently’ to male referees in the men’s game
Welch made history by becoming the first woman to referee a Premier League match when she took charge of Fulham’s match with Burnley last season
The now retired 40-year-old has been inducted into the National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame
‘I don’t think they do that, especially with men [the players] go so far. I have been the fourth official in the men’s game where the players just keep going [at the referee] and I never found that with me.
‘I don’t know if that’s because I’m 6ft tall, I’m quite small. There are plenty of things that probably wouldn’t work in my favor, but if being a woman works in my favor among men, then I’m going to do it every day of the week.
‘People tend to think that as a woman in a men’s game, negative things are automatically said about you, but I never found that. People didn’t agree with me because I was a referee, but they didn’t disagree with us because I was a female referee.
‘They just didn’t agree with my decision, that’s part of our job. But from a respect perspective, I had a great time on the men’s track. If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have stayed there, I would have gotten out. I enjoyed working on it and it was a very good experience for me.’
In a week where referees have been in the spotlight, Welch appreciates that the rise of social media means the current landscape for officials means more scrutiny.
‘Part of football involves control, that’s not just referees, that’s managers, that’s players. People will always have an opinion about what players do, what a manager does and also what a referee does.
‘We notice that when we whistle and take the cards. We are involved in top sport, so we can expect a bit of supervision. We just have to be strong in spirit and be able to deal with it. We have support mechanisms that do that too.”
Welch retired from refereeing in the summer to take on a leadership role with the PGMOL, where she will help mentor future female referees.
Welch has admitted that her femininity has saved her from too much abuse from male players
In the week in which David Coote (pictured) was suspended by the PGMOL after a foul-mouthed rant about Jurgen Klopp was leaked, Welch had said social media increases scrutiny
When the 40-year-old made history by taking charge of men’s football matches, she faced increased scrutiny and scrutiny for being the first woman to take that step.
Welch is hopeful that her experiences will allow future female referees to follow the same path without the turmoil she faced.
“That’s the whole thing about legacy, we want to try to make it the norm for the people who come through it, and that’s how it should be.
“I always say that in two years’ time I don’t want anyone to talk about me, I want me to be part of history and for other female referees to come along who will be part of the future and build their own legacy. and help other referees get through it.
‘Last year we had Kirsty Dowle referee a Football League match and it was quite ironic because there wasn’t much media attention around it. For me, I thought, this is brilliant.
‘The fact that no attention is paid to this means that we are moving in the right direction. I think that was probably better for Kirsty too, because she could probably just concentrate on the game.
“When I say I want people to forget Rebecca Welch, if we get to that space and it just becomes the norm, then for me that’s my job.”