Rebecca Welch, the rise of female referees and one final barrier left to break

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery Sian Massey-Ellis was the first female assistant referee in the English top flight Aspinall’s journey started as a 14-year-old in search of a part-time job, and was encouraged to take up refereeing by her father, who believed she would not commit to a 6 am paper round. Now I’m in a position that I never ever thought was possible or that I would never achieve.” open image in gallery Natalie Aspinall has been assistant referee at the top flight since the 2022-23 season Hopefully, Welch’s continued time in the middle will lead to an increased number of women referees and officials at the top level. “With numbers joining the women’s refereeing pathway growing year on year, and inspirational female role models such as Rebecca Welch, Lauren Impey and Emily Heaslip operating at the very top of the professional game, there’s never been a more exciting time to be involved.” open image in gallery Aspinall’s first Premier League match at Molineux Forest Green broke new ground in July 2023, when Hannah Dingley, who had already become the first female academy manager in men’s football with Forest Green in 2019, took charge as caretaker manager of the men’s first team. Massey-Ellis, who became an assistant referee in the Premier League, and also managed to return to the top after having a baby, echoed the sentiment, saying: “We are good enough to be there and if we’re there, we’re not there as a tick-box.” open image in gallery Hannah Dingley became the first female manager when she took over as an interim head coach at Forest Green It is after all not so many years ago that Sky Sports’ celebrated partnership of Andy Gray and Richard Keys felt comfortable making sexist comments about women in the industry, under the assumption that they were off air.