"As a parent, we all wish our children to exceed in life"
Sunny Gill became the first British-Asian to referee a Premier League match when he took charge of Crystal Palace’s game against Luton on March 9, 2024.
The official had a quiet match as Palace took an early lead before Cauley Woodrow equalised for Luton six minutes into added time at the end of the game.
Gill issued his first Premier League booking to Issa Kabore for a reckless challenge on Jefferson Lerma in the 27th minute.
He showed his second yellow to Eberechi Eze for a pull on Reece Burke’s shirt.
The game finished 1-1.
While there was little controversy on the pitch, Gill provoked a grumpy reaction from ex-Premier League referee Mike Dean when he was spotted signing autographs at half-time.
On Soccer Saturday, Dean complained:
“I did get autograph requests after 300 games! You should sign autographs before the game or after the game but not at half-time!”
Sunny Gill is part of a footballing family as he is the son of trailblazer Jarnail Singh, who was the English Football League’s first turbaned Sikh referee.
Between 2004 and 2010, he refereed over 150 EFL matches across the divisions.
Before Crystal Palace vs Luton, Jarnail Singh said of his son:
“Proud isn’t the word.
“As a parent, we all wish our children to exceed in life [beyond] whatever you’ve achieved, so it’s not just with Sunny but Bhupinder as well.
“They’ve both exceeded our expectations and it’s just a very proud moment for the family, friends, the community and the Sikh religion.
“I’ll be honest, it’s very emotional.”
On if he had advice for his son before his Premier League debut, he joked:
“Yes, to do everything the opposite to what I would do!
“No, you know what, he’s his own man. He knows as much as I do.”
“He’s got the appropriate coaches under him in that they’ve got psychologists, they’ve got everybody there who will be supporting him and have been supporting him over the last two years since he’s been on the ERDP [Elite Referee Development Plan].
“I’ve got full faith in what they’ve done and what they’re doing. I’m sure he’ll be prepared mentally and physically for the game at the weekend.”
Sunny Gill’s brother Bhupinder became the first Sikh-Punjabi assistant referee to officiate in the Premier League when he ran the line in the match between Southampton and Nottingham Forest in January 2023.
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