The 40-year-old took charge of Fulham's game against Burnley at Craven Cottage today, which saw the London hosts lose 2-0.

Welch showed the yellow card to three players as she refereed her first top flight match with her decisions scrutinised by fans around the world.

Welch, from Washington, in Tyne and Wear, was working for the NHS when she began her refereeing career in 2010.

Having climbed through the ranks after taking charge of university and Sunday league games, she became the first woman to be appointed to referee an EFL match in April 2021.

Welch refereed a men's FA Cup fixture in January last year and was appointed as the fourth official in Manchester United's 1-0 win at Fulham last month - the first woman to carry out the role in the Premier League.

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany and Fulham manager Marco Silva both backed Welch ahead of the game.

"It's certainly a benchmark and milestone," Kompany said.

"I think she'll take great pride in having done it herself. There's a lot of women - in general, but in the game as well specifically - who will see this as a way to achieve at the highest level.

"I am always pro any kind of extension anyway because what it does is widen the pool of talent.

"We need access to all the available talent, the best referees in the best league in the world."

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Silva said: "For us it will be a normal situation. Of course it will be the first time so everyone has to talk about it, but when the game starts it is going to be another Premier League game, with people with good ability to be a manager, a player or to be a referee.

"We will not even talk about it before the match because for us she is the ref, like she was the fourth official some weeks ago in our game against Manchester United, and for us it was a normal situation.

"We have to always respect all the officials and she's going to be welcomed. She got this chance because she deserves it for sure and she has the ability to be at the level she is going to be."