The Premier League is set to appoint its first-ever female referee this Christmas as English Football League official Rebecca Welch will take charge in the top flight for the very first time.
Rebecca Welch has been refereeing in the EFL since 2021, having first officiated a League Two match between Harrogate Town and Port Vale before working her way up the football pyramid.
Now, as per an announcement by the Premier League, the 40-year-old will be overseeing Fulham vs Burnley on Saturday, December 23, becoming the first woman to ever be appointed as the first official for a first-division game.
Welch also became the first female to referee an FA Cup fixture back in January 2022 and was the first woman to serve as a fourth official Welch was also appointed as the fourth official for Manchester United‘s 1-0 win over Fulham this past November.
BREAKING 🚨: Rebecca Welch is set to become the first woman to referee a Premier League match.
Sam Allison will become the first Black official to referee a Premier League game since 2008. pic.twitter.com/3TLrUQBRWK
Regularly operating in the WSL and having been part of the officiating team for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Welch has been growing a reputation across the beautiful game and it seems as though it was only a matter of time before she was assigned to a Premier League round.
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Refereeing colleague Sam Allison is also set to become the first Black official to take charge of a Prem game in over a decade and a half on Boxing Day when Sheffield United take on Luton Town, the last being Uriah Rennie in a game between Liverpool and Spurs back in May 2008.
The lack of diversity, both in gender and race, in refereeing seen throughout English football has remained a pressing issue among many fans and advocates within the sport for years and now this latest announcement comes as a welcome step in the right direction.
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Speaking on the decision this Thursday, refereeing veteran and PGMOL chief Howard Webb said the league has been attempting to “fast-tracking talented officials” through their training programme and labelled both of the appointments as “really well deserved”.
🗣️ "Both appointments are really well deserved"
PGMOL chief Howard Webb on the news that Rebecca Welch and Sam Allison will referee Premier League matches this month ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/nYNefGt67n
Unfortunately, with the way latent prejudices still reside in the modern game, Welch has never had it easy on her journey to this historic appointment, as it was only last month that two young male fans were arrested for ‘misogynistic chanting’ during Birmingham home match against Sheffield Wednesday.
While sexism and misogyny in sport and life, in general, are obviously outdated attitudes, it was concerning to see that the two individuals were just 17 years old and that there’s still work to be done in educating people and rooting out those underlying issues.
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Nevertheless, having qualified and well-respected officials like Welch and Allison become prominent figures, role models and leading examples in football will do wonders for the future of representation equality throughout the sporting world.
Howard Webb talks about the referees making Premier League history 📖
✅ Rebecca Welch will become the first female referee in the PL
Body of woman found in River Mersey last year finally identified after ‘extensive’ investigation
Emily Sergeant
The body of woman who was found in the River Mersey last year has finally been identified.
Following what has been described as an ‘extensive investigation’ by Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team to determine the identity of the body, which was sadly discovered in the river adjacent to Chorlton Water Park on 21 March 2024, the family of the victim has now been informed and supported by specialist officers.
The victim has been formally named as 38-year-old Laura Stanley, who was originally from Derbyshire but was living in Stockport.
After the body was discovered, and ‘exhaustive and determined’ investigation by GMP officers began to identify here, including detailed checks of both national and international databases.
The Major Incident Team (MIT) also closely worked in collaboration with specialist forensic service providers to create an anthropological profile, which eventually culminated in the creation of a facial reconstruction image.
Following several media appeals, a relative of Laura contacted officers and then a DNA match was confirmed through a familial link.
“Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure,” Laura’s family said in a heartbreaking tribute to her.
“She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community. Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
The River Mersey, across from Chorlton Water Park, where Laura’s body was discovered / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While Laura has now been identified, police say further investigations will take place to understand her last movements, the events that led to her death, and her discovery in the river.
Additionally, as is standard practice, GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate is also reviewing a previous missing report relating to Laura in the time before the discovery of her body, which will determine prior contact relating to Laura, and whether the appropriate measures were enacted.
#UPDATE | A woman who was discovered in the River Mersey last year has been identified following an extensive investigation by officers in GMP’s Major Incident Team.
Thank you to those of you who have shared our appeals over the last year.
Anyone who knew Laura and thinks they may be able to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police by calling 101, or by using the Live Chat Service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log number 1191 of 21 March 2024.
Alternatively, you can contact the Major Incident Team Syndicate 3 directly on 0161 856 9479, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
It is currently believed that Laura was last seen around January 2024.
Featured Image – GMP
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More than 70,000 home buyers set to pay thousands after missing stamp duty relief deadline
Emily Sergeant
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”
Danny Jones -
14th December 2023 
