Uriah Rennie, the first black referee in the Premier League, has been hailed as a "special person who put everybody before himself" following his passing at 65.
Born in Jamaica and relocating to Sheffield when he was six, Rennie officiated more than 300 matches from 1997 to 2008, with 175 of those in England's top division. The first of those was a Derby County match in 1997.
Known for his exceptional fitness, Rennie had recently shared his struggle with learning to walk again after a rare neurological issue rendered him paralysed from the waist down.
The news of his death broke on Sunday, compelling Chris Foy, another ex-Premier League referee, to deliver a heartfelt eulogy on talkSPORT Monday morning.
"He was a gentleman, a gentle giant," Foy reminisced. "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 began his journey as a referee in 1979 with local matches before etching his name in history by officiating his first Premier League game in 1997, which saw the Rams clash with Wimbledon and Vinnie Jones given a booking.
Ascending to the international stage, Rennie was designated as a FIFA-listed referee in 2000 and subsequently joined the elite circle of professional referees a year later, culminating in his retirement from the field in 2008.
Foy continued: "If it was difficult for him, he never showed it because he was always grounded. He loved refereeing,".
In a recent accolade, Sheffield Hallam University honoured Rennie with an honorary doctorate in November 2023, acknowledging his significant contributions to sport and community engagement across South Yorkshire.
Having taken up the position as chancellor of the university in the previous month, Rennie received heartfelt praise from Foy, who hailed him 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."