Eimear Ryan: When you’re the first female anything, the burden of representation is real
On Easter Monday, Rebecca Welch became the first woman to referee a match in the EFL when she took charge of a League Two clash between Harrogate Town and Port Vale. Picture: Nigel French
There are many glass ceilings left to shatter in sport, but the past few years have seen a few cracks made in an unlikely one: that of refereeing.
The great Stéphanie Frappart reffed a World Cup qualifier between Holland and Latvia last month, adding yet another garland to her list of firsts; last year, she became the first woman to referee a Champions League game. Our own Joy Neville and Michelle O’Neill are no slouches either. In 2016, Neville becoming the first female rugby referee to officiate in the PRO14, and O’Neill served as an assistant ref at both the Uefa Super Cup and the Women’s World Cup final in 2019.
