Sam Allison to be first black referee in Premier League for 15 years

Dec 26, 2023

Sam Allison will become the first black referee to officiate in the Premier League for 15 years tonight, and only the second ever.

The 42-year-old former firefighter will take charge of Sheffield United’s Boxing Day fixture with Luton Town – marking the first time a black man will officiate a match in England’s top division since Uriah Rennie in 2008.

BAMRef – which offers guidance, support, mentoring and counselling to black, Asian and mixed heritage referees – said: “We welcome this appointment.

“It is a further step in the right direction towards refereeing reflecting society and the playing contingent within football.

“It is also the culmination of years of hard work by BAMRef members. We hope to work with Howard Webb (Professional Game Match Officials Board chief) to identify and progress more black officials to the top flight.”

Dan Forbes, at level four in the referee pathway and working for BAMRef, said: “Sam is going to be under the spotlight massively, he knows that and he will relish the opportunity.”

“It’s been a long time coming for him and it’s been a long-time ambition as well,” he added. “He totally understands the pressures.

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“Sam absolutely deserves to be there, he’s one of the top referees in the country and there’s no doubt Sam will deliver and fly our flag.

“We’ve also got some other top referees coming through – Lisa Rashid, Ruben Ricardo, Aji Ajibola – that deserve the opportunity.

“This is just the starting point. This is not the end. It’s huge, it’s also well overdue. The impact will be huge. If you can’t see it, it’s a lot harder to be it.”

It comes after Rebecca Welch made history on 23 December when she became the first woman to referee a Premier League match.

The 40-year-old officiated Fulham’s game against Burnley at Craven Cottage, showing three yellow cards.

Having climbed through the ranks after taking charge of university and Sunday league games, Welch became the first woman to referee an EFL match in April 2021.

Welch also refereed a men’s FA Cup fixture in January 2022, and was the first woman to be appointed as a fourth official during Manchester United’s 1-0 win at Fulham in November.

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