Sam Allison became the Premier League’s first black referee for 15 years by taking charge of Sheffield United’s 3-2 Premier League defeat against Luton Town on Tuesday.

The English top-flight had not seen a black referee since Uriah Rennie, who was the only black official in the competition’s history until Boxing Day. Rennie took charge of matches for 11 seasons before retiring in 2008 and Allison has now followed in his footsteps at Bramall Lane.

Allison was promoted to the Football League in 2020 and was rewarded with Championship officiating at the start of the current season.

He was first involved in a Premier League outing as a fourth official during Brighton’s 4-1 victory over Chelsea in October 2022.Alisson’s landmark moment comes just three days after Rebecca Welch became the first woman to referee a Premier League match.

The 40-year-old took charge Fulham ‘ loss against Burnley at Craven Cottage, showing three yellow cards.