Wendy Toms, the Premier League's first lineswoman, on being sent to the kitchen

When Rebecca Welch crosses the white line on Saturday to lead out Fulham and Burnley, history will have been made.

The Premier League's first female referee. It has taken until 2023, more than 30 years since the league's creation, but it's finally happening.

Yet, unbeknown to many, Wendy Toms was the league's first female refereeing official in 1997. She was a linesman, a position now termed as assistant referee.

It was her who broke down the gates and kept them wide open for Welch and others.

Not that Toms ever complained as she was called 'f***ing hopeless' by Andy Gray; or as she had security marshal her in the Premier League; or as she was turned away from grounds because of her gender. This was all while juggling a 27-year career at Parcelforce.

The 61-year-old has invited Mail Sport into the FA Dorset headquarters, where she is a director overseeing all areas of football in the county.

'I sent a message to Rebecca, I wished her all the best,' she tells Mail Sport, beaming with pride. 'I'm sure there'll be more to come in the future, but it's taken a long time.

'That's a shame for me (it has taken this long) because I felt that when I was coming through, there were a lot of females there.

'Now the women are taking off, women's football has taken off and we are pushing. Rebecca is a great referee, she deserves what she's got and I'm really glad for her.

'She's going to be under pressure, no doubt about it. And she'll think, "Oh what am I doing here?" but she deserves it. Once she gets her first game over, she'll be fine.'

Toms is not one for immodesty. The ex-Southampton goalkeeper in 1984 took up a refereeing course in Cyprus where her then-husband Paul was stationed with the RAF.

Upon returning to Dorset she rose up the