The number of female referees in football has increased by 72 per cent in the last four years, according to the Football Association.

Across all levels of the sport there are now 2,146 female referees and since 2016 63 per cent of Women’s Super League referees have been women.

According to a new match official evaluation system, 98.3 per cent of decisions in the 2019/20 WSL season were correct.

Joanna Stimpson, the FA’s women’s professional game refereeing manager, said: "We needed to treat refereeing in the women’s game as different to the men’s.

"The game is played differently, the players behave differently and the environment is different.

"The creation of the newly-created ‘women’s game referee pathway’ is a game changer for our long-term progress.

“Our work over the past four seasons has built strong foundations and I believe there’s never been a better time to be a referee, especially a female referee."

Last August it was confirmed WSL referees would be monitored for the first time and would be scrutinised by the same criteria used for officials in the men’s Premier League.

Welsh international Natasha Harding, who plays for Reading, said: "The level of officiating hasn’t grown/developed with us and our game."