First female referee to take charge of FA Cup third round tie

Another great landmark for football

Rebecca Welch will make history in January, when she will become the first female referee to take charge of a men's FA Cup third round tie. Reports from the Athletic have confirmed that Welch will be in charge for the game between Birmingham City and Plymouth Argyle which takes place a week on the second week of 2022, with 32 games scheduled between 7 January and 10 January. https://twitter.com/theathleticuk/status/1476221723057872898?s=21 Welch has already made history once this season when she became the first female official to take charge of an EFL game when she was in charge for Harrogate's game against Port Vale back in March. Despite her meteoric rise in the refereeing ranks, Welch admitted earlier this year that referring at a professional level was never her intentions.

"It's a bit surreal because I never wanted to be a ref, that was never the plan," she told the Telegraph.

"If somebody had said 'in 11 years' time, you'll be on the list for EFL referees', I'd probably have just laughed at them.

"It's a role people look at and think 'why would you want to be a referee?' but actually the rewards you get out of it, it's completely changed me as a person, it's completely changed my life, for the better."

The third round and fourth round will also see no replays take place in a bid to cut down on fixture congestion with any games that see teams level after 90 minutes going straight to extra-time and if needed, penalties. The third round will include the likes of Vanarama National League outfit Chesterfield, who drew a money-spinning tie away to European Champions Chelsea whilst Steven Gerrard travels to Old Trafford to face Ralf Rangnick's Manchester United with his reinvigorated Aston Villa side. Related links:

• FA Cup Third Round draw: Man Utd host Aston Villa, Shrewsbury go to Anfield
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