Sam Allison will become the first black referee to officiate in the Premier League for 15 years

Sam Allison is the Premier League's first black referee since 2008.

He'll make history this Boxing day as he takes charge of the Sheffield United vs Luton Town game at 15:00 o'clock.

Sam will be following in the footsteps of Uriah Rennie, who officiated in the competition for 11 years.

Until 2020, Allison - who took up refereeing 12 years ago - was the only black match official in the top four English divisions and the first since Rennie.

He had a successful playing career before becoming a match official.

The 42 year old Wiltshire man started his journey with Swindon Town, then moved on to the likes of Bristol City, Bournemouth and Exeter City.

He eventually dropped down into the semi-professional game with spells at Clubs including Bath City, Chippenham Town and Salisbury City.

It's said it was during one these spells that he began toying with the idea of trying refereeing.

He spoke about his career to the EFL earlier this year:

But he was working both as a match official and a firefighter, before he looked at officiating on a full-time basis.

Following his promotion in 2020, Sam has become the fifth black referee to officiate in the EFL, following in the footsteps of Rennie, Trevor Parkes, Phil Prosser and Joe Ross.

He has taken charge of over 100 matches in the EFL.

His taste of Premier League action came in October last year, when he was fourth official in the fixture between Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea.

Allison was promoted to officiate in the Championship for the 2023/24 season.

Hear the latest news on Downtown on FM, DAB, smart speaker or the Rayo app.