Sunny Singh Gill has change into the primary British South Asian to referee a Premier League match by taking cost of Crystal Palace’s residence sport with Luton at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
The official had a quiet match, as Palace took an early lead earlier than Cauley Woodrow equalised for Luton six minutes into added time on the finish of the sport.
He issued his first Premier League reserving to Issa Kabore for a reckless problem on Jefferson Lerma within the twenty seventh minute, and confirmed his second yellow to Eberechi Eze for a pull on Reece Burke’s shirt.
While there was little controversy on the pitch, he provoked a grumpy response from former Premier League referee turned Sky Sports pundit, Mike Dean, when he was seen signing autographs at half-time.
Dean complained on Soccer Saturday: “I did get autograph requests after 300 games! You should sign autographs before the game or after the game but not at half-time!”
Football author Vai Bhardwaj stated he was “extremely proud, as a fellow British Asian, to see Sunny Singh Gill become the first British South Asian to referee in the Premier League. A huge moment!”
Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) stated, merely, “congratulations, Sunny!”
Football runs in Gill’s blood, as he’s the eldest son of league soccer’s first turbaned Sikh referee, the trailblazing Jarnail Singh, who refereed greater than 150 English Football League (EFL) matches throughout the divisions between 2004 and 2010.
Gill’s brother, Bhupinder Singh Gill, turned the primary Sikh-Punjabi assistant referee to officiate within the Premier League when he ran the road within the match between Southampton and Nottingham Forest in January final yr.
Read extra:
Premier League scrambles for landmark deal
Premier League’s new battle over rule modifications
Luton captain ‘actually died’ when coronary heart stopped
Gill, a former jail officer, additionally made historical past in January by turning into the primary British South Asian to referee a sport between two Premier League groups when he was in command of Brighton’s FA Cup fourth spherical win at Sheffield United.
Sunny is the highest-ranked referee from a South Asian background in English soccer, and Bhupinder is essentially the most senior assistant referee hailing from the group.
Source: information.sky.com”