Assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis has retired from officiating and will take up a new role with the Football Association.<\/p>\n
Massey-Ellis will become the FA’s Senior Manager – Women Referees from September, where she will support and develop female officials across the country and help provide a pathway into the elite game.<\/p>\n
The 40-year-old became only the second female assistant referee to officiate in the Premier League when she made her top-flight debut in 2010 and has since worked on more than 150 Premier League matches.<\/p>\n
Her career also included five Women’s FA Cup finals, while she became the first female assistant referee appointed to the Community Shield. In 2021, Massey-Ellis became the first woman involved in a men’s FA Cup final when she served as an assistant VAR, before also working as an AVAR at the 2025 Carabao Cup final.<\/p>\n
On the international stage, Massey-Ellis officiated at four Women’s European Championships and two Women’s World Cups, as well as the 2018 Women’s Champions League final. In 2019, she became the first English woman to officiate a men’s European fixture when she worked as an assistant referee in the Europa League.<\/p>\n
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\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n To the young girl who simply loved refereeing, we did it. Thank you, football.<\/span><\/p>\n