EFL make official decision ahead of Portsmouth vs Bristol City Championship clash

The EFL have confirmed that referee Sunny Singh Gill will take charge of Portsmouth’s upcoming Championship home match against Bristol City at Fratton Park.

Singh Gill is a former prison officer who made history earlier this year by becoming the first British South Asian referee in Premier League history. The 39-year-old is following in the footsteps of his father Jarnail Singh who was the first Sikh to referee a game in the English Football League.

Singh Gill has taken charge of a total of 14 matches across all competitions this season and has handed out 48 yellow cards without yet producing a red card. He is yet to take charge of a Portsmouth game this season, but his brother Bhupinder was the assistant referee last time out during the 2-2 draw with Swansea City.

Robert Hyde and Andrew Dallison will be the assistant referees for this weekend’s contest at Fratton Park, with Aaron Farmer acting as the game’s fourth official.

As it stands, Portsmouth are bottom of the Championship and four points adrift of safety with two games in hand. They are hoping to record back to back Championship home wins for the first time since April 2012 after a difficult start to life in the second tier in front of their own supporters. Pompey have lost just one of their last four games in the league and could climb up two places in the table if results elsewhere go in their favour.

Portsmouth’s upcoming Championship opponents

Bristol City are currently 11th in the Championship table after a steady start to the season under manager Liam Manning. The Robins have largely been reliant on the goal-scoring form of Nakhi Wells and Anis Mehmeti, who have registered a combined 11 goals between them in the Championship this term.

Bristol City are currently in their 10th consecutive season in the second tier and are dreaming of reaching the top-flight for the first time in 45 years. As it stands, they are five points behind Watford in sixth and 10 points clear of the drop zone after 18 matches.

The Robins are ninth in the Championship form table with 11 points from their last eight matches, including an emphatic 4-0 victory at home to Bristol City last time out. They also sit eighth in the Championship away table after picking up 12 points from a possible 27 on their travels this term.