First female referee in the Premier League: what pioneer Nicole Petignat says about Rebecca Welch

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“That’s really bad,” says Nicole Petignat on the phone. “That I will still have to be called in 2023 if a female referee is allowed to whistle for the men. That should have been taken for granted by now and was no longer worth a story.”

Petignat is of course right. The now 57-year-old is a pioneer and already refereed in the two highest men’s competitions in Switzerland in the 1990s and later also in the UEFA Cup. And yet it is still a story when a woman referees for the first time between the men in the Premier League on the Saturday before Christmas Eve.

Rebecca Welch is the name of the chosen one. The 40-year-old from the north of England will referee the match between Fulham and Burnley. The motherland of football follows a quarter of a century after Petignat’s performances in Switzerland. “Too late,” says the Jura resident, who neither knows nor envies Welch. “As a woman you are mainly in the spotlight, you have to be impeccable and yet always be prepared for unobjective criticism.”

Offensive chants during a second division match

However, Welch is hardened, just like all female referees who have reached the highest men’s level. Such as the German Bibiana Steinhaus (44), who refereed her first match in the top men’s competition in 2017, and the French Stéphanie Frappart (40), a referee in the French Ligue 1 since 2019, who will even be a referee at the Men’s World Cup. in Qatar in 2022 was allowed, or like Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi (33) in Serie A. They all had to endure a lot on their way to the top, otherwise they would not be where they are now.

Rebecca Welch was subjected to misogynistic chants during the Championship match between Birmingham City and Sheffield Wednesday a month ago. She professionally ignored them. She simply doesn’t care. Two young people were subsequently arrested for disturbing public order. “I am amazed by the images of women that such young people have grown up with. What kind of mothers do they have?” Petignat asks. You see her anger.

‘VAR undermines the personality of referees’

Of course, she occasionally had to deal with unobjective criticism, and that was not always pleasant. “But I would do it all again because the beautiful moments and the important experiences I have had weigh more heavily.” But Petignat is still happy that the time of always having to prove himself is over. Anyway, thanks to VAR, things are different today. “VAR takes some of the pressure off, but it can also undermine the personality of the referees if it mercilessly exposes mistakes.” It is probably easier for women today than in her time, because the aspects of fitness and physique are no longer very important.

Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi refereed Fiorentina’s Serie A match against Verona (1-0) last Sunday. It was striking that the players complained and protested a lot about their decisions. But she didn’t let the constant nagging get her down, her wife stood her ground and eventually led the race with confidence. There is a difference, my colleague Welch said recently, whether the criticism is loud because you are a woman or because as a referee you have to make decisions that are not always well received by everyone, that is the nature of things.

Trainers Guild is looking forward to Welch

A starting point for the English is that the coaching stars of the Premier League, from City coach Guardiola (“That is excellent news”) to Chelsea coach Pochettino (“I am really happy”), Arsenal’s Arteta (“That is bitterly necessary and very positive for the league”) to Newcastle manager Howe (“A big moment”), all without exception are enthusiastic about Welch’s upcoming debut. And perhaps, she hopes, Nicole Petignat will not be called up again when a female referee in a country is allowed to referee for the men for the first time in ten years.

Source : Blick