Father of the first Sikh-Punjabi to serve as a Premier League assistant referee said he hoped his son would inspire future generations.
Bhupinder Singh Gill made footballing history when he ran the line during Nottingham Forest's 1-0 win over Southampton.
His dad is Jarnail Singh, who was the first referee with a turban in English league football, and Bhupinder's brother Sunny is also an official.
They were in the crowd on Wednesday.
"The most important thing is that they are role models for future Black, Asian and minority groups in football - you know, saying, 'we have got the ability, all we need is the opportunity'," Mr Singh told BBC Radio WM's Amber Sandhu.
Mr Singh, formerly of Wolverhampton, refereed more than 150 English Football League games between 2004 and 2010.
Jarnail Singh also made history as the first turbaned referee in English league football
He said his sons first got into refereeing at the ages of 13 and 14, before becoming "disheartened with officiating" and went back to playing with friends and in local clubs.
They got back into it over the past decade and their father "gave them all the encouragement".
"As parents, we all wish our children and grandchildren to exceed what we do in life whether that be in football, business or education," he said.
"They've exceeded my expectations... in terms of family life and what they do, and now they've followed in my footsteps."
Mr Singh said it had been "stressful and pressurised" for all the family ahead of his son's big match, which garnered a lot of media attention.
"There were more than a few nerves, the butterflies were in the stomach and I just wanted that 90 minutes to be over," he said.
"[But] for the first game there was no major hiccups and everything went well."
'"We don't just want to be a tick box"'
Mr Singh, who moved to London and worked for the Metropolitan Police, said he was thrilled his sons had followed in his footsteps, because his life had been "built around football" in Wolverhampton.
"I was playing for my local school team or college team and involved with a couple of Punjabi football teams in Wolverhampton - Punjab Rovers and Punjab United," he said.
"We had a great life, we learnt a lot from each other and we did well."
Mr Singh's son Sunny officiated his first EFL match in August last year
The Football Association and Premier League's growing financial commitment to the development of referees signalled a really positive future, Mr Singh said.
"Without money you can't progress in terms of procurement, retention and development of referees," he added.
"I would encourage any youngster, whether female or male, to start seriously thinking about refereeing - in the old days refereeing was just a hobby, but now there's a career in football and refereeing, and it's very rewarding.
"It's a great opportunity to make friends and there is a career path to be made out of it."
