Premier League: Australian Jarred Gillett to become first overseas referee

By
published

Jarred Gillett is set to become the Premier League's first foreign referee when Watford take on Newcastle on Saturday

Jarred Gillett
(Image credit: Getty)

Australian Jarred Gillett will become the first overseas referee to officiate a Premier League match when Watford's face Newcastle United at Vicarage Road this coming Saturday. 

Gillett, a 34-year-old originally from Queensland, Australia, has worked as a VAR in the Premier League and has also refereed EFL matches – including last season's Championship play-off semi-final second leg between Brentford and Bournemouth –but never in the top flight. 

Gillett has been officiating in England since the start of the 2019/20 season, but was only nominated for the Select Group 1 of referees by PGMOL ahead of the current campaign. 

After refereeing in his native country, Japan's J-League, the Chinese Super League and various others, Gillett moved to England and combined his refereeing duties with his studies at Liverpool’s John Moores university, where he was appointed as a post-doctoral researcher in cerebral palsy.

This season, he served as the VAR for Brighton's opening day win over Burnley at Turf Moor. Following the match, Gillett was indirectly criticised by Brighton manager Graham Potter for not telling referee David Coote to review Burnley's opening goal. The Seagulls gaffer believed there had been a foul on striker Neal Maupay in the build-up. That goal didn't have too great an effect on the outcome, however, as Brighton won 2-1.

That hasn't seemed to have affected Gillett's standing, however, as he is set to make history this weekend. 

Subscribe to FourFourTwo today and get three issues delivered for just £3. The offer ends October 17, 2021.

READ NEXT

RICH JOLLY How to beat Bielsa: Why Leeds United's biggest weakness lies in their 'spare man' system

RANKED! Every Premier League kit this season from worst to best

GUIDE FIFA 22 news: Pre-order now – plus release date, cover, trailer and everything else we know so far

Restock your kit bag with the best deals for footballers on Amazon right now

FourFourTwo Staff
FourFourTwo Staff

FourFourTwo was launched in 1994 on the back of a World Cup that England hadn’t even qualified for. It was an act of madness… but it somehow worked out. Our mission is to offer our intelligent, international audience access to the game’s biggest names, insightful analysis... and a bit of a giggle. We unashamedly love this game and we hope that our coverage reflects that.