First black Premier League referee Rennie dies aged 65

Uriah Rennie, the Premier League’s first black referee, has died aged 65.

Rennie officiated more than 300 games between 1997 and 2008, including 175 Premier League matches.

Anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out said Rennie was “a trailblazer in every sense”, adding: “He will always be a Premier League legend by becoming its first black referee, providing leadership, talent and visibility that proved inspirational to many.

“Uriah played a massive role in shaping the game as we know it today. Football should always be grateful to him.”

The Premier League said: “Uriah was a pioneering trailblazer whose legacy will live on, continuing to inspire future generations.”

Rennie recently revealed he was learning to walk again after a rare condition left him paralysed from the waist down.

Born in Jamaica, he moved to Sheffield as a child and grew up in the Wybourn area of the city.

He started refereeing in local football in 1979 before making history in 1997 when he oversaw a top-flight match between Derby County and Wimbledon.

“Incredibly sad news about the passing of Uriah Rennie. A Black pioneering referee and leader in the game,” said Leon Mann, co-founder of the Football Black List.

“We owe so much to those who push open the doors. Uriah should never, ever be forgotten.”

Rennie had been a magistrate in Sheffield since 1996 and campaigned on issues including improving equality and inclusion in sport, mental health and tackling deprivation.

He had a master’s degree in business administration and law and, in November 2023, was awarded an honorary doctorate by Sheffield Hallam University for his distinguished contributions to sport and his work with South Yorkshire communities.

In May, Rennie was installed as the new chancellor of the university.

Sheffield & Hallamshire County Football Association described their former chair as a “trailblazing referee” who “broke down barriers, shaped our football community and inspired generations to come.”

Once described as the “fittest” referee in world football by former Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) chief Keith Hackett, Rennie had to abandon his first top-flight game when the floodlights failed at Pride Park.

He was added to the Fifa international list in 2000, and the PGMOL’s Select Group of professional referees the following year.

Speaking to BBC Sport in 2023, former Arsenal and England forward Ian Wright said: “I always found that when I played with him [as the referee] there was no real interaction.

“With some of the other referees, you could speak to them, have a little banter. And I think that the pressure he probably would have been under – to not have that kind of interaction with the other black players – must have been really intense, simply because of what people might say.”

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Hackett said: “He had stature and presence on the field of play and he was quite a gentleman off it. He was quiet but efficient in what he did.

“He was superbly fit. He had a black belt in one of the martial arts and I often watched him sprint, make a decision, players looking around him trying to have a go at the referee and he’d tap them on the shoulder and say ‘look I’m here, I’ve seen it’ and he would get a smile.

“He was a terrific communicator but quietly spoken, hardly ever lost his cool in any situation and understood the game really well.”

But after Rennie’s retirement in 2008, it took another 15 years for another black referee to take charge of a Premier League match, when Sam Allison was appointed to Sheffield United versus Luton Town in December 2023.

Earlier that year, the Football Association had laid out plans to increase the diversity of match officials across the footballing pyramid and wants an increase of 1,000 women referees and 1,000 black or Asian referees at all levels by 2023.

When that strategy was announced, only 3% of officials in professional football were of black or Asian ethnicity.

In a statement, the English Football League (EFL) said Rennie was “a respected official, a groundbreaker, and a proud servant of the game”, while the PGMOL said he “had a significant impact on the game and his legacy will live on”.

Former Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Aston Villa striker Stan Collymore said he was “incredibly sad” to hear of Rennie’s death, adding he was a “pioneer” and a “trailblazer”.

Ex-Crystal Palace forward Mark Bright posted on X: “A trailblazer, a good referee and thoroughly decent person when ever I bumped into him off the pitch.”

Speaking on Talksport, former Premier League referee Chris Foy said: “He was a gentleman, a gentle giant. He was a friend to me, a mentor to me, he was just a special person who put everybody first before himself.

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

Dermot Gallagher, another former top-flight referee, told Sky Sports: “As a person he was humble, he was quiet, he was unassuming. But most important he was kind.”