Manchester United's Premier League trip to Fulham on Saturday will see a refereeing first after Rebecca Welch was named as fourth official for the game.
Welch will become the first female fourth official in the top flight having previously been a Premier League assistant referee. The official is a trailblazer having become the first woman to take charge of an EFL match when she refereed Port Vale against Harrogate in League Two in 2021.
Earlier this year she became the first female to referee a Championship match when she took charge of Birmingham City against Preston North End in January while she was also the first female referee to officiate an FA Cup third round tie, a feat she achieved in 2022.
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The referee for the game is John Brooks, assisted by Lee Betts and Matthew Wilkes. Jarred Gillett is the VAR with Sian Massey-Ellis the assistant VAR. The game is a 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday and will be shown live on TNT Sports.
Welch, 39, hails from the north east and has been a FIFA listed referee since 2015. In December 2020 she was added to UEFA's elite women's list.
It could be a busy afternoon for Welch given that when United faced Fulham in the FA Cup last season, Cottagers manager Marco Silva was sent off as Fulham also saw two players dismissed in a crazy few minutes of a bad-tempered affair which United won 3-1.
The Reds are currently eighth in the Premier League table while Fulham are three points further back in 15th but could leapfrog Erik ten Hag's side with a win in the capital.
