RateTheRef

A first for me today, the first time I have seen a woman referee a League match and I have to say I was very impressed with Rebecca Welch. She has a calm and authoritative demeanour and she controlled a not too difficult match efficiently and with little fuss. Her fitness is good, she was always in a good position to make credible decisions and I was pleased there were no exaggerated sprints to show her fitness level. Work with ARs seemed very smooth and foul detection was overall quite reasonable. The yellow cards were all justifiable though I suspect her tolerance level for foul play is pretty low.

It seems clear from this performance that Ms Welch has achieved this level of refereeing by merit and I do not think this will be the summit of her officiating journey.

I would concur with the previous comments regarding Ms Welch's performance. To see such a non fussy performance, and refereeing with a smile, is quite rare in League 1. Probably the stand out performance in an Ipswich game this season that I have witnessed.

Great to hear Rebecca Welch is performing well, i am very pleased for her, hope the progression continues for her.

I also feel the players react and behave differently to her than they do to her male counterparts.

Which says all you need to know about professional foitballers and how they behave. A lot more of it is choice on how to react.

Similarly when reffing "lower" than your normal league players were very squarely in 2 camps - 1 who were pleased to have a "higher" level ref and basically just got on with the game and 2, those who wanted to score points off you. Player choice.