Former Swindon Town player and Wiltshire and Dorset firefighter Sam Allison is set to become the first black Premier League referee in 15 years.

Allison has been given the task of refereeing Sheffield United against Luton Town on Boxing Day and in doing so, will be the first black referee to take charge of a game in the top flight of English football since Uriah Rennie in 2008.

The 42-year-old played for Swindon, before going on to have a semi-professional footballing career that included playing for Chippenham Town prior to making the switch to being the man in the middle.

He was promoted to being in charge of Championship games at the start of the season and has now been given the opportunity to referee in the Premier League.

Back in March, Allison spoke to the EFL and spoke of his ambitions of officiating Premier League matches.

He said: “Blowing that whistle for the first time was pretty daunting, but I think from that point onwards refereeing became infectious, so I began trying to move up the system as quickly as I could.

“Being a black referee and a black man in this day and age, it’s about being strong and confident, showing those people in your communities that you can do good, and you can achieve.

“I want to be a role model, a floor model within my community and show my representation as a black man in football.”

 

 

His old colleagues at the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Rescue Service gave their congratulations to their former Station Manager on X.

Premier League Chief of Referees Howard Webb was also very complimentary about Allison along with Rebecca Welch, who is set to become the Premier League’s first female referee, when he spoke to Sky Sports.

He said: "I'm excited to see the appointment of Rebecca Welch to her first Premier League referee's appointment and, on Boxing Day, we'll see Sam Allison taking charge of his first game.

"They're both part of the PGMOL's development group. It's an initiative tied into the elite referee development plan, which has been in place for a couple of years now to fast-track talented officials to the pathway.

"But of course, it also shows them as role models. It demonstrates that people can make it through the pathway.

"They're both from groups that are not traditionally represented in the Premier League officiating cohort and hopefully it might inspire other people to give it a go."