RIP Laura Buckley Noonan
Search
06 Sept 2025
Search
06 Sept 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
More up-and-coming referees are set to get top-level opportunities like trailblazers Rebecca Welch and Sam Allison as the PGMOL looks to develop refereeing and widen the pool of diverse officials.
History was made over Christmas as Welch became the first woman to referee a Premier League match and Allison became the first black official to take charge of a top-flight game in 15 years.
The pair are part of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited’s 42-strong development group of referees and assistants, focused on aiding and improving talented officials.
PA understands more opportunities are set to follow for emerging officials as the Howard Webb-led organisation looks to develop refereeing and increase diversity.
The appointment of Welch for the Premier League match between Fulham and Burnley on December 23 made particular waves.
Her absence from top-flight games since has led former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett to criticise the organisation, claiming it is “run by a bunch of amateurs who operate like a Mayfair Gentleman’s Club”.
Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, the 79-year-old said on Wednesday: “Job for the boys – when is Rebecca Welch going to be appointed to her next Premier League game? Was it to look good from a PGMOL PR point of view. She officiated well.”
Welch has taken charge of a top-flight side since her Premier League debut, having refereed Bournemouth’s FA Cup third-round win at QPR.
Further development games at a higher level will surely follow but she is not yet a member of Select Group 1, which was announced at the start of the season.
The PGMOL trains and develops 117 referees and 177 assistants, with 20 referees forming part of Select Group 1.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
