By Asia Samachar | Britain |
Referee Sunny Singh Gill is set to make Premier League history this weekend when he takes charge of Crystal Palace v Luton.
Sunny, who comes from a family deeply connected with British soccer, will become the first British South Asian to referee a match in the competition.
Sunny will be the seventh referee outside of PGMOL’s (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) Select Group to take charge of a Premier League match this season, following Sam Allison, Sam Barrott, Bobby Madley, Josh Smith, Rebecca Welch and Lewis Smith, reported the Premier League website.
Soccer refereeing runs in the family of the 39-year-old who was scouted by Queens Park Rangers youth academy when he was 11-years-old but never made the cut.
In 2004, his father Jarnail Singh became the first Sikh referee to take charge of an English Football League (EFL) game, and to do so wearing the traditional turban. His brother
In 2019, his brother Bhupinder Singh Gill will become the first Sikh-Punjabi heritage match official in Premier League history when he served as an assistant referee.
Sunny took charge of his first Sunday League match aged only 17, and in April 2021 both he and Bhupinder became the first pair of British South Asians to officiate in the same Championship match.
Sunny told the EFL: “Football has always run in the family. Me and my brother grew up loving the game and like most young kids, we just wanted to play.
“But in our household it was a bit different because when we were going to primary school, we knew our dad was going out to referee on a weekend.
“There were times he was a fourth official in the Premier League and our friends would say they saw him on Match of the Day!”
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First Sikh-Punjabi heritage match official in Premier League history (Asia Samachar, 4 Jan 2023)
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Know Sunny’s dad, Jarnail Singh, very well as we worked together for over 20yrs????⚽️
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