Sunny Singh Gill will become the first referee of British South Asian descent to oversee a Premier League match this weekend.
The Premier League confirmed that Sunny has been appointed to take charge of Crystal Palace’s match against Luton Town at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
Sunny joins the ranks as the seventh referee outside of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited’s (PGMOL) — the body which runs refereeing in England — select group to officiate a Premier League match this season, following in the footsteps of Sam Allison, Sam Barrott, Bobby Madley, Josh Smith, Rebecca Welch and Lewis Smith.
Sunny took charge of his first Sunday League match aged 17 and in April 2021, he and his brother Bhupinder achieved a historic milestone as the first duo of British South Asians to officiate in the same Championship match — Bristol City against Nottingham Forest.
Bhupinder, meanwhile, also made history in January 2023, becoming the first Sikh-Punjabi to officiate Premier League assistant referee, overseeing the match between Southampton and Nottingham Forest.
Sunny’s father, Jarnail, remains the first and only English Football League referee to wear a turban, officiating 150 matches between 2004 and 2010.
In an interview with Sky Sports last October, Sunny spoke of his ambition to become the first British South Asian to referee a Premier League game.
He said: “It’s been a lot of hard work training away from the pitch, improving in every department with the help of the PGMOL and my coaches.
“I now want to set more goals and fulfil my dream of becoming the first South Asian to referee in the Premier League.”
In December, Allison became the first black referee since Uriah Rennie to officiate a Premier League match, taking charge of Luton’s 3-2 victory at Sheffield United on Boxing Day.
Allison’s milestone came just three days before Welch made history after becoming the first woman to referee a Premier League match, taking charge of Fulham’s 2-0 home loss against Burnley.
(MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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