Uriah Rennie, the Premier League’s first black referee, has sadly passed away aged 65.
The iconic official took charge of 175 Premier League games and refereed over 300 between 1997 and 2008.
The Football Association’s Refereeing Department posted a statement on X on Sunday evening, which read: ‘The F.A Refereeing Department is saddened to hear of the passing of former FIFA and Premier League referee, Uriah Rennie.
‘Uriah will forever be remembered as a true trailblazer of the game.
‘Our thoughts are with Uriah’s family and friends at this time.’
Rennie was born in Jamaica but moved to Sheffield as a child and grew up in the South Yorkshire city.
Sheffield United were quick to pay tribute to the trailblazing referee, posting on X: ‘Sheffield United are saddened to learn of the passing of popular and trailblazing referee Uriah Rennie.
‘Our thoughts are with his friends and family at this time.’
Rennie suffered a rare condition last year and spent five months in hospital after being left paralysed from the waist down.
Speaking to the BBC in April about the terrifying ordeal which happened on a holiday in Turkey, he said: ‘By the end of the holiday I couldn’t sleep a wink from the pain, and by the time I got home I could barely walk.
‘I spent a month laid on my back and another four months sitting in bed.
‘They kept me in hospital until February, they found a nodule pushing on my spine and it was a rare neurological condition so it’s not something they can operate on.
‘I have had to learn to move all over again, I’m retraining my legs.’
Since then he had been installed as chancellor of Sheffield Hallam Univeristy, with vice-chancellor Prof Liz Mossop saying: ‘Uri is a true Sheffield trailblazer who has broken down barriers and continues to campaign on important issues within our community.
‘This makes him an ideal fit for Sheffield Hallam University and we are looking forward to working with him as our next Chancellor.’
Rennie became the first black referee in the Premier League when he took charge of Derby County vs Wimbledon on August 13, 1997.
Former head of Premier League referees, Keith Hackett, once described him as: ‘The fittest referee we have ever seen on the national and world scene.’
Speaking in 2020 on his desire for increased diversity in football, he told SportsMail: ‘We need to ensure words are matched by action so we see more people of different diversities in football. It shouldn’t be unusual to see a female referee or a black referee or someone with a disability.
‘I want to break down the barriers to provide equality of opportunities to all of our disadvantaged groups, who at the moment don’t have the opportunity to achieve their potential.
‘I want to make sure that people have at least the same opportunity that I supposedly had. But more importantly, that everybody has the same opportunity in the community so nobody is disproportionately affected purely because of who they are or the colour of their skin.
‘This endgame will be the longest game I have played because things that have been ingrained in the decision-makers for such a long time are not going to take just two days to overturn.’