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Uriah Rennie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Uriah D. Rennie (born 23 October 1959[1] in Sheffield, South Yorkshire) is an English football referee officiating in the FA Premier League and other competitions. He began refereeing in 1979 in local leagues, then operated in the Northern Premier League until 1994, at which time he was appointed to the Football League List of referees.
He was given his first Premiership appointment on 23 August 1997, controlling the 2-0 away win by Crystal Palace at Leeds, goals being scored by Paul Warhurst and Attilio Lombardo.[2]
In the year 2000, he became a FIFA referee.[3]
Rennie made footballing history as the first black referee to officiate in the top tier of English football. In 2001, he joined the Select Group of professional referees, who receive a retainer of £33,000 per annum from the The Football Association to support their training and development. Standing at over 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) tall and weighing 16 stone (100 kg), Rennie practices both kick-boxing and aikido. Keith Hackett, head of the Professional Game Match Officials Board has described him as "the fittest referee we have ever seen on the national and world scene." [4]
He refereed the 2001 (old) Football League Division One Play-off Final between Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, when Bolton won 3-0 with goals from Farrelly, Ricketts and Gardner. Uriah did not show a red or yellow card at all during the match.[5]
Like many high-profile referees in top-flight football, Rennie has attracted criticism from within the game. In November 2005, he was mentioned in a remark by a stadium announcer at a Football League Championship match between Preston North End and Crystal Palace. It was announced over the tannoy as the teams came back onto the pitch after half time; "Welcome to the second half of the Uriah Rennie show" in response to Rennie not giving two penalty decisions in favour of Preston. [6] His refereeing came under criticism yet again on 16 December 2006 after Southampton's 2-0 victory over Norwich, with Norwich manager Peter Grant claiming: "It's scandalous the way he talks to players. He shows them no respect, and yet expects respect back. With this referee it's all about him. People come to watch the players and be entertained, not to watch the referee." [7]
Rennie has a Master's degree in Business Administration and Law and, away from football, works as a magistrate in Sheffield. [8] He is married with one daughter. [4]
- ^ Birthdate confirmation, Football League website. Retrieved 10 March 2007.
- ^ First ever Premiership match, Soccerbase. Retrieved on 10 March 2007.
- ^ Career details, Premier League website. Retrieved 10 March 2007.
- ^ a b "Uriah Rennie's Red Card Blues", AYUP. Retrieved on 2007-01-20.
- ^ Old Division One Play-off Final, 2001, Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 March 2007.
- ^ "Trouble over ref dig", BBC Sport, 2006-11-27. Retrieved on 2007-01-05.
- ^ "Southampton 2-1 Norwich", BBC Sport, 2006-12-16. Retrieved on 2006-12-17.
- ^ "Come on ref", PFA, 2004-07-26. Retrieved on 2007-01-20.
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