Sunny Singh Gill Set To Become First Referee Of Indian Descent In Premier League

Sunny Singh Gill was standing at the proverbial career crossroads one year ago. He had the option to continue as a prison officer or concentrate on carrying forward his family's rich footballing legacy by chasing his refereeing dream. Cut to 2024, the 39-year-old will script history at Selhurst Park on Saturday when he becomes the first Indian-origin and British South Asian to referee in an English Premier League fixture (Crystal Palace vs Luton). "This weekend I'll be proud to see Sunny Singh Gill taking to the pitch as the first South Asian to referee a Premier League match," said British PM Rishi Sunak, addressing an awards ceremony organised by the Asian Media Group (AMG) earlier this week.

"It is a reminder of the incredible contribution of South Asian people to our economy and our society. It's a reminder too of the values we share: hard work, family, education and enterprise. There is so much for us to celebrate," he said.

It will not be the first time that a member of the trailblazing Gill family claims a slice of history though. Sunny's father Jarnail Singh was the first turbaned referee in the history of English League football (EFL). He officiated 150 matches between 2004 and 2010.

"Football has always run in the family," Sunny said.

His brother Bhupinder was the first Sikh-Punjabi to serve as a Premier League assistant referee when he ran the line during the Southampton versus Nottingham Forest game last year.

"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," he told EFL last year.

"There were times he was a fourth official