Uriah Rennie: ‘Our friend and inspiration Uri' – Premier League’s first black referee who battled in private but continued to change the world

Uriah had been privately battling a recent cancer diagnosis.

Here, the Yorkshire Post reporter Sophie Mei Lan Malin has paid tribute to Uri, whom she was honoured to count as a friend.

When the death of one of the "fittest" and most inspirational football referees, Uriah Rennie, was announced on Monday morning, the overwhelming volume of tributes for the Premier League's first black referee was unsurprising. Only a few weeks ago, I received my last message from Uri, before his installation as Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University.

We had been due to meet up soon with our mutual friend, Patrick Meleady.

As a child growing up in Sheffield -home to the world's oldest football club - it was natural to crave being part of a footballing community.

I grew up in Pitsmoor, an impoverished part of the city, similarly to Uri, who was raised “on the Wybourn.”

He was our inspiration.

I was a young, mixed-race girl in a school where girls weren't allowed to play football. However, seeing Uri at community events and the local Pitsmoor Adventure Playground, he helped us believe that we could and should.

I didn't just start a team at school, I played at soccer roadshows and dreamed of becoming a referee.

Uri was more than a top-flight referee; officiating 300 matches, he was a beacon of hope for millions worldwide.

Uri transformed the game through his role on the pitch alongside his undying commitment to community work off the pitch, as well as studying for an MBA at Sheffield Hallam University.

It's hard to describe the magnitude of the impact that one man can have, but it always came from the heart. It wasn't about being known or famous, it was about leaving a legacy for the next generation.

Uri has certainly done that.

He always sounded softly spoken, kind, and humble, yet he had this powerful aura around him and amazing martial arts skills.

Even following Uri's retirement in 2008, he relentlessly campaigned for a fairer, more equitable, and equal society for all, as well as being a magistrate, which was fitting for such an advocate of justice and inclusion for all.

Uri was a hero of mine growing up, and I remember being starstruck when I was presented an award from him. Over the years, my family and I have become friends with Uri.

It was a 'pinch me' moment, the fact that Uri attended our wedding two years ago today.

As a journalist, you have to detach yourself from human tragedies and death where possible, but certain stories like this are all too close to home.

Uri rightly received a standing ovation at his installation ceremony as chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University, a role he had treasured, despite being diagnosed last year with an inoperable neurological condition that had led him to become wheelchair bound.

That was Uri.

A gentle giant, who changed football and communities throughout the region forever.