"I think it's a huge achievement, but there's still a long way to go," Hickson-Lovence tells BBC Sport.

The Football Association has set targets of increasing the diversity of match officials across the footballing pyramid and wants an increase of 1,000 women referees and 1,000 black or Asian referees at all levels in three years.

Former firefighter Allison, 42, was appointed to the fixture by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), and although this is the first step towards the FA target, why has it taken 15 years?