Trailblazer Uriah Rennie remembered as a ‘special person’ and ‘true gentleman’

Uriah Rennie, the Premier League’s first black referee, has been described as a “special person who put everybody before himself” following his death at the age of 65.

The trailblazing official was born in Jamaica before moving to Sheffield aged six with his family and went on to oversee more than 300 games between 1997 and 2008, including 175 in the English top flight.

Once labelled the “fittest” match official in world football, Rennie recently revealed he was learning to walk again after a rare neurological condition left him paralysed from the waist down.

His death was announced on Sunday and Chris Foy, a fellow former Premier League referee, paid an emotional tribute to his ex-colleague in an interview with talkSPORT on Monday morning.

“He was a gentleman, a gentle giant,” Foy said. “He was a friend to me, a mentor to me, he was just a special person who put everybody first before himself.

“He was a real presence on the field and he was a real presence off the field, a true gentleman. He had a great personality. It was the things off the field that made him special.

“I remember one Christmas time, we were at training camp and he had organised for us to go into a special education needs school in Daventry. We spent some time with the children in that school.

“That was the mark of the man, off the field he was just special, he was a great communicator and a real people person.”

Rennie started refereeing locally in 1979 before making history in 1997 when taking charge of his first Premier League match between Derby and Wimbledon. Vinnie Jones was among those booked.

Rennie became a FIFA-listed referee in 2000 and joined the select group of professionals one year later before retiring in 2008.

“If it was difficult for him, he never showed it because he was always grounded. He loved refereeing,” Foy said.

In November 2023 martial arts expert Rennie was awarded an honorary doctorate by Sheffield Hallam University for his distinguished contributions to sport and his work with South Yorkshire communities.

He was last month installed as the chancellor of the university and was described by Foy as a “real community hero in that part of the world”.

Foy added: “Away from football, he always had an escape from refereeing because of the other things he did in his life. He loved his community and charity work. He loved other sports, which we used to talk about fondly.

“We used to talk all the time. We only exchanged text messages on Friday. It’s tough at the minute.”