This weekend, the Premier League witnessed a historic moment as referee Sunny Singh Gill stepped onto the pitch to officiate the Crystal Palace v Luton match. In doing so, Gill made history as the first British South Asian to referee a match in this prestigious competition. This milestone marks a significant breakthrough for diversity and representation in the world of professional soccer.

"You want the younger generation to look at you and think 'I can also do it'. If parents are looking at us thinking, 'Wow, we have Asian kids in the Premier League officiating games, my son can give that a go, my daughter can give that a go'", said Sunny to Premier League's official website last month.

Since the beginning of the season; Gill has been a member of a select group of referees, outside of PGMOL's Select Group, who were given the opportunity to officiate in the Premier League. Among them are trailblazers like Sam Allison, Sam Barrott, Bobby Madley, Josh Smith, Rebecca Welch, and Lewis Smith. Gill's previous experience includes his groundbreaking performance earlier this year when he refereed a game between two Premier League teams, making him a pioneer in his field.

Gill's dedication to the sport runs in the family, as his father, Jarnail Singh, made his mark as the first EFL referee to wear a turban back in 2004. Singh officiated nearly 200 EFL matches until 2010, paving the way for his son to follow in his footsteps. "Every father's dream is to see their children go and be better and do better than themselves," said Jarnail Singh to Sky Sports.

Earlier this year, Sunny's elder brother Bhupinder Singh Gill became the first Sikh-Punjabi assistant referee in Premier League history. He officiated as assistant referee in his Premier League debut at St Mary's as Southampton took on Nottingham Forest. " As a family we couldn't be more proud of Sunny, and also his younger brother Bhupinder who became the first Sikh to become an assistant referee in the Premier League at the beginning of last year," added Jarnail.