Sunny and Bhupinder Singh Gill will make another slice of history when the brothers preside over the first-ever England Men’s Elite League game on home soil against Portugal next week.
With a player pool derived mainly from last season’s U20s, the England Men’s Elite League squad is open for players born between January 1 2002 and December 31 2004.
England will also come up against the likes of Italy, Germany and Netherlands in the inaugural Euro Elite League, with their opening match coming away to Romania on Thursday.
Spurs duo Dane Scarlett and Alfie Devine, and Liverpool youngster Luke Chambers are among the players in the squad named by interim head coach Joe Edwards.
Dane Scarlett celebrates scoring for England during the FIFA U20 World Cup earlier this year
England take on Portugal in the Euro Elite League in Milton Keynes on Tuesday, and Sikh-Punjabi brothers Sunny and Bhupinder will become the first pair of British South Asians ever to officiate at that level – effectively one rung below international football, given players aged almost 22 are eligible to play.
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England’s highest-ranked Black referee, Sam Allison, and the top referee from the South Asian community, Sunny Singh Gill, joined forces to officiate Swindon vs Leyton Orient in a boost for diversity in football and refereeing
Trailblazer Ruebyn Ricardo, who became league football’s youngest Black heritage referee when he took charge of Crewe’s League Two clash with Swindon Town in April at the age of 25, will be the fourth official for the match.
Sunny is the highest-ranked referee from a South Asian background in English football, and younger brother Bhupinder is the most senior assistant referee hailing from the community.
Their father, Jarnail Singh, is the first and only turbaned Sikh referee in Football League history, taking charge of more than 150 matches across the divisions between 2004 and 2010.
At the turn of the year, Sky Sports News exclusively broke the news that Bhupinder was going to make history as the first Sikh-Punjabi assistant referee to officiate in the Premier League.
His appointment for the match at St Mary’s was hailed by PGMOL chief refereeing officer Howard Webb in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports News.
Webb said: “Bhupinder’s appointment to the Premier League and the best league in the world will show an even greater audience about what’s possible for people from different backgrounds.
“It will give other British [South] Asian boys and girls an opportunity to see somebody who looks like them doing something that they thought wasn’t possible for them previously.”
Six months earlier, Sky Sports News revealed that Bhupinder’s elder brother Sunny had earned promotion to the EFL National group of match referees.
Sunny followed in his father’s footsteps at the beginning of last season when he took charge of Northampton vs Hartlepool to become the first British South Asian to referee a league game since his dad Jarnail Singh more than a decade ago.
Former EFL referee Jarnail Singh met Sky Sports News reporters Fadumo Olow and Miriam Walker-Khan on a recent visit to Sky Studios
Jarnail told Sky Sports News he was “a very proud father” after watching on from the stands, with Sunny insisting he aspires to push on even further in the game.
“To follow in my father’s footsteps and become the next South Asian, and Sikh-Punjabi, to be promoted as an EFL referee is a proud moment,” Sunny told Sky Sports News.
“A decade on from my dad refereeing in the EFL, I have achieved my dream and followed in his footsteps.
“It’s been a lot of hard work training away from the pitch, improving in every department with the help of the [refereeing body] PGMOL and my coaches.
“I now want to set more goals and fulfil my dream of becoming the first South Asian to referee in the Premier League.”
British South Asians in Football
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