English officials get Olympics call

English officials Rebecca Welch, Emily Carney and David Coote will all be on duty for the Olympic Football Tournaments this summer.

Welch, Carney and Coote have been chosen as referee, assistant referee and video match official respectively for the men’s and women’s tournaments between 24 July and 10 August in Paris.

The appointment of Welch is the latest in a long line of significant achievements for the North East referee, after making her Premier League debut in December and officiating at major tournaments such as the UEFA Women’s EUROs and FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand as well as regularly in the Women’s Champions League – all leading to her induction in the National Football Museum Hall of Fame.

It's also a particularly special moment for Carney as she makes her FIFA international tournament debut, although she’s no stranger to important fixtures on the global stage which has included her being part of the team overseeing the final of the UEFA Women’s U19 EUROs last summer.

Coote operates primarily in the Premier League, with other notable appointments including the 2023 Carabao Cup final at Wembley Stadium, as well as the FIFA U17 World Cup final where he was selected for the role of Support VAR.

"When I received the call from my coach, I spent the first half of it talking and talking," said Welch.

"When I eventually stopped and he told me I'd been selected for the Olympics I just couldn't believe it - I went quiet! To share this news with my coach was very special after all the hard work we've done together.

"I'm very honoured and excited to represent the FA, PGMOL and England at the Olympics. I think whether you're an athlete or a spectator, this is an event everyone would love to be involved in and I am very lucky to be part of it."

Emily Carney added: "I don't think the news will sink in for a while! I keep checking the list to see if my name is really there. Any appointment is a big honour but to be officiating at the Olympics is really unimaginable. To share the experience with Rebecca and David is really special."

David Coote said: "It’s a huge honour to be selected as a VMO for the Olympic football tournaments and play a small part in such an iconic sporting event.

"I'm very much look forward to supporting Rebecca, Emily and the other officials who have also been selected - something we'll turn our full attentions to once the domestic season has concluded."

The trio of officials will make up a team of 21 referees, 42 assistant referees, 20 video match officials and six support referees from 45 different countries to officiate at this summer’s tournament, supported by a team of FIFA technical trainers. Referees in both the women’s and men’s competitions will be supported by goal-line technology and VAR, including semi-automated technology.

The appointments follow a landmark year for match officials in England with over 500 appointments achieved on the global stage, including the UEFA Europa League and FIFA Club World Cup finals by Anthony Taylor, Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn, while Natalie Aspinall and Sian Massey-Ellis MBE joined Welch at the aforementioned FIFA Women’s World Cup and were part of the team who took charge of the third-place play-off match.

This is alongside the group of officials consistently appearing for EURO 2024 qualifiers, UEFA Women’s Nations League fixtures as well the Conference League, Europa League and Champions League – the latter in both the men’s and women’s game.

Congratulations to Rebecca, Emily and David!