Here is all you need to know about Sam Allison and his stats as he becomes the first black referee in 15 years to be appointed by Premier League
Sam Allison will make Premier League history later this month, becoming the second Black referee in as many years and the first in fifteen.
There are still very few non-white referees in professional English football of about 300 officials in the league.
Who is Premier League referee and ex-firefighter Sam Allison, bio, age, teams and career stats
The 42-year-old former firefighter will oversee Sheffield United vs. Luton on Boxing Day as PGMOL chief Howard Webb continues to achieve his summer vow to diversify top-flight officiating. The Black, Asian, and Mixed Heritage Refereeing Group, or BAMRef, as per The Sun released the following statement:
We welcome this appointment.
Further was said:
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 to identify and progress more black officials to the top flight.”
🚨 Sam Allison will become the first black referee to officiate in the Premier League for 15 years – and only the second in history! 👏🏾
He will take charge of the Luton Town-Sheffield United match on Boxing Day. 👮🏾♂️ pic.twitter.com/wqjGKDOnDb
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) December 15, 2023
BREAKING 🚨: Rebecca Welch is set to become the first woman to referee a Premier League match.
Sam Allison will become the first Black official to referee a Premier League game since 2008. pic.twitter.com/3TLrUQBRWK
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) December 14, 2023
Who is Sam Allison?
Allison began refereeing 12 years ago, and until 2020, he was the only black official in the top four English divisions and the first since Uriah Rennie in 2008.
Allison, 42, had played at Swindon, Bristol City, Bournemouth and Exeter before moving down the football pyramid into the semi-professional game and took charge of his first match as a referee on a Sunday morning in his home county of Wiltshire, when a few things he had learned along the way helped him get through.
| Tournament | Apps | Fouls pg | Fouls/Tackles | Pen pg | Yel pg | Yel | Red pg | Red | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.Championship | 6 | 21.17 | 0.68 | 0.17 | 4.50 | 27 | 0.17 | 1 | |
| 2.League One | 4 | 23.50 | 0.82 | 0.25 | 4.00 | 16 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| 3.League Cup | 2 | 21.00 | 0.86 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 8 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| 4.League Two | 1 | 16.00 | 0.50 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 2 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Total / Average | 13 | 21.46 | 0.73 | 0.15 | 4.08 | 53 | 0.08 | 1 |
Situated in the Wiltshire region Allison attended the Swindon School of Excellence when he was younger. After that, he spent the bulk of his career as a semi-professional player for Chippenham Town.
He had a successful playing career, working at the top of the non-league pyramid and pursuing dual occupations as a match official and a firefighter, before deciding to devote himself full-time to officiating.
Sam also made several appearances for English schoolboys. Akil Howson has been a permanent referee official since August, following Rennie. He has mixed, Asian, or black ancestry. He hasn’t, however, overseen a Premier League game as of yet. After being promoted to SG2 for the 2023–2024 season, Allison is getting close to managing 100 games of EFL fixtures.
Meanwhile, The Premier League also announced on Thursday that Rebecca Welch will officiate the match between Fulham and Burnley on December 23. This will make her the league’s first female referee.