Referee Lewis Smith made his Premier League debut last weekend, becoming the youngest person to take charge of a match in the competition this season.
The 30-year-old was appointed to take charge of the fixture between Fulham and Aston Villa at Craven Cottage on Saturday 17 February.
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Smith will be the sixth referee outside of PGMOL's (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) Select Group to take charge of a Premier League match this season, following in the footsteps of Sam Allison, Sam Barrott, Bobby Madley, Josh Smith and Rebecca Welch.
He has risen through the refereeing ranks and has now been given an opportunity to operate in the top flight as PGMOL continues to identify and develop talented match officials in the professional game.
Over 550 appointments at higher levels have been provided to Development Group and non-Development Group officials since the Elite Referee Development Plan was launched ahead of the 2022/23 season.
Michael Oliver is the competition's youngest ever referee, having started in the top flight aged 25 in August 2010.
Early career
Smith's career began in September 2016 when he took charge of an Under-18 Premier League match between Liverpool and Everton.
He officiated at youth and lower divisions for the next three seasons before making the step up in 2020/21, taking charge of an FA Cup first-round match between Banbury and Canvey Island.
Smith continued to progress and in 2022/23 was the man in the middle during a Championship match between Watford and Stoke City, five matches in League One and seven matches in League Two.
This season, Smith has taken charge of seven matches in the Championship, four in the FA Cup and three in the EFL Cup.
In total Smith has overseen 197 matches, and will make the next step in his 198th match this Saturday when Fulham take on Villa.
