CLATTENBURG: This is no token gesture, Welch's appointment is is richly deserved

This news is long overdue, and having known Rebecca Welch for close to a decade, this could not happen to a more deserving referee.

The Premier League have lagged behind others in making this move. Stephanie Frappart has been used in France’s Ligue 1. Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi has been used in Italy’s Serie A.

Howard Webb was in charge of the MLS in the United States when the whistle was handed to Tori Penso.

It is good to see Webb bringing this inclusion to the Premier League now that he is head of the PGMOL. But this is no token gesture. Welch has earned it.

Like all of us who officiated in the world’s most elite league, she worked her way up from the very bottom by putting in the hard yards.

The games where only a man and his dog were watching from the sidelines, and even the Jack Russell was barking abuse at you. The games in the National League, League Two and League One.

The games in the Championship, where you will get found out if you haven’t got what it takes.

She’s done it all and shown how confident she is in when charged with overseeing a game of football, regardless of whether it is 22 blokes she is supervising.

When it comes to making decisions in a match, from as minor as a throw-in to as major as a last-minute penalty, it should not matter if you are male or female.

All that matters is if you are accurate or inaccurate, and having seen Welch in action, she is someone who keeps controversy at a minimum.

The North East has been a hot bed for refereeing talent, from myself to Michael Oliver to George Courtney to Peter Willis to Alan Wilkie.

Now Welch is the latest to join the club after being appointed the Premier League game between Fulham and Burnley on December 23.

Welcome to the North East Refereeing Division,