Craven Cottage will be the unlikely setting for a significant slice of history today as Rebecca Welch becomes the first woman to referee a Premier League match when Fulham take on Burnley.
The 40-year-old Durham lady has worked hard to reach this level and if all goes well it could pave the way for more female referees in the Football League.
In another important step, when Sheffield United play Luton Town on Boxing Day, Sam Allison will become the first black ref to be in charge of a Premier League game since Uriah Rennie retired in 2008.
"These are pivotal moments for Rebecca and Sam who are officials of real quality," said referees chief Howard Webb last week.
The Welch appointment has been well received by several managers.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino commented: "I'm so happy to see it in football," while Newcastle's Eddie Howe said: "It's a great moment... I fully support it".
In an interview with the Sunderland Echo, Welch said her gender had never been a serious problem as she worked her way up from Sunday league park football to the top flight.
"If anything I was probably treated with a little more respect by the players because I was a female ref," she said.
After the dreadful recent scenes in Turkey when a top-level ref was punched in the face by a club director no one needs reminding that regardless of what country, being a referee is no fun these days and it is getting hard to attract recruits.
This applies all the way down to the grass roots level where referees regularly quit citing abuse from players as well as fans on the touchline.
Welch became the first woman ever appointed to referee an English Football League game when she officiated at the Harrogate Town v Port Vale match in League Two in 2021.
Then, in January 2022, she refereed the third round FA Cup match between Birmingham City and Plymouth Argyle.
She has also officiated in the Championship.
A decade earlier, Amy Fearn had officiated the last 20 minutes of the game between Coventry City v Nottingham Forest when the original ref suffered an injury.
Predictably Fearn's appearance prompted a chorus of wolf whistles and her first toot of the whistle to award a free kick was greeted by loud cheers from the fans.
They were witnessing history.
She did well, despite all the banter and wise-cracking.
One voice from the crowd shouted: "Haven't you got a husband to go home to love?"
Female refs have also been effective in Europe with Stephanie Frappart being the best-known having officiated in several high-profile games and a familiar figure in France's Ligue 1.
The highest profile female official in England in recent years has been Sian Massey-Ellis who has become a familiar figure with her ponytail running the line in Premier League games since her first match in December 2010.
Now aged 39, Massey-Ellis built up a reputation as a reliable official who makes few mistakes and does not succumb to crowd pressure. She was awarded the MBE in 2017 for her services to football.
Concerning the pressures of the job, in a Sky Sports interview Massey-Ellis commented: "There's not many jobs where every mistake you make is analysed live on TV."
A final comment on the life and times of a female referee comes from the lower leagues.
Sonya Home, now retired, recalled the following incident in 1995: "I saw someone eyeing me in the pub. I asked 'do I know you?'
He said, 'You should. You sent me off today.'