Rebecca Walsh announces her retirement from refereeing.
Rebecca Walsh is one of the most known female referees, from officiating WSL games to Champions League finals and breaking the mould countless times.
Born on the 1st December 1983 Walsh first worked for the NHS business services authorities.
Welch became a football referee in 2010, but she continued to work in her NHS post until becoming a full-time referee in 2019.
Welch had played football at a young age, she then went onto study refereeing with Durham County football Association.
During her career, she has managed some of the most important games in women’s football: Women's FA Cup finals, the champions league final and refereed in the Olympics.
On the 29th December 2021, it was announced that Welch would be the first woman to officiate a third round men's FA cup game between Birmingham and Plymouth Argyle.
It hasn’t always been plain sailing for Welch, she has been the subject of misogynistic comments whilst refereeing a men’s game.
During a match between Birmingham City and Sheffield Wednesday two 17 -year-old boys were arrested due to misogynistic comments directed at her.
In December 2023, Rebecca Welch became the first woman to referee a Premier League game. The game was against Fulham and Burnley, and after the game Burnley manager Vincent Kompany congratulated her on her job.
On March 8th which is international women’s day it was announced that Rebecca Welch would be inducted into the hall of fame.
With her retirement, she has confirmed that she will still be active in some shape of form with in football , Walsh is choosing to work with Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) who are the body responsible for refereeing professional games in England.
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