Silva hails ref appointment of Welch for Fulham v Burnley
Rebecca Welch took to the pitch at Craven Cottage on Saturday to become the first female referee in the Premier League, and she has been praised for her display. Piers Morgan is among those to laud the 40-year-old for smashing through the glass ceiling and making history, taking to Twitter/X to send a message to the official.
Burnley secured an important three points away at Fulham to move off of the bottom of the Premier League, beating Marco Silva’s side 2-0 in a convincing display. The Clarets opened the scoring in the 47th minute when Wilson Odobert whipped a sensational strike into the top corner after a neat piece of passing play on the edge of the area.
Vincent Kompany’s side then doubled their lead in the 66th minute through Sander Berge. The ex-Sheffield United star retrieved possession on the halfway line before driving towards goal and drilling his shot past Bernd Leno and into the bottom corner to send the away supporters into a frenzy.
The performance from Burnley has received plenty of praise, as has the performance by referee Welch. On her Premier League debut, she dished out three yellow cards and avoided significant controversy in a convincing display by the referee.
Rebecca Welch made Premier League history on Saturday (Image: Getty)
Morgan was among those to commend Welch, writing on Twitter/X: “Congrats to Rebecca Welch on becoming the first woman referee in the Premier League By all accounts she had a very solid game, and was clearly there on merit.
“Though every Fulham fan is now blaming her for their own players’ dreadful performance. So, she should fit in very well!”
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Piers Morgan praised Welch's performance (Image: Getty)
Following the full-time whistle, Kompany offered his congratulations on the pitch and was keen to praise the ‘milestone media’ during his post-match media duties. He explained: “I wanted to congratulate her because it’s a big moment.
“After the game, it’s fair to say that it’s a milestone moment and may there be more, and the best thing will always be when someone is judged on merit. But you have to have a first and this is it, so well done (to her) and I’m happy to be part of this moment.”
Fulham manager Silva was not as congratulatory in his post-match message, though his blunt response may have been a huge compliment. The Portuguese boss labelled Welch’s display as a ‘normal performance’, which may well be exactly what the trailblazing official hoped for when heading to Craven Cottage.
