{"id":8721,"date":"2025-04-03T07:16:45","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T07:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/betwealthsuretips.com\/blog\/ex-premier-league-referee-uriah-rennie-learning-to-walk-again\/"},"modified":"2025-04-03T07:16:45","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T07:16:45","slug":"ex-premier-league-referee-uriah-rennie-learning-to-walk-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/betwealthsuretips.com\/blog\/ex-premier-league-referee-uriah-rennie-learning-to-walk-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Premier League Referee Uriah Rennie ‘learning To Walk Again’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n

‘I was a Premier League referee, but now I’m learning to walk again’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\n

Lucy Ashton<\/span><\/p>\n

BBC News, Yorkshire<\/span><\/p>\n

Reporting from<\/svg>Sheffield<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n

\n

BBC<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Uriah Rennie, 65, was hospitalised for five months after a rare condition left him paralysed from the waist down<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

Uriah Rennie became a familiar face to millions of football fans after becoming the Premier League’s first black referee.<\/p>\n

Once described as the “fittest” match official in global football and a martial arts expert, he is now learning to walk again after a rare condition left him paralysed from the waist down.<\/p>\n

After spending five months in hospital, the 65-year-old has spoken to BBC News about rehabilitation, his fighting spirit and a brand new role. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Rennie, who officiated more than 300 top-flight fixtures between 1997 and 2008, was on a birthday trip to Turkey last year when he was hit with a sudden striking pain in his back.<\/p>\n

“I thought I had just slept funny on a sun lounger, I was hoping to go paragliding but because of my backache I couldn’t go,” he says. <\/p>\n

“By the end of the holiday I couldn’t sleep a wink from the pain, and by the time I got home I could barely walk.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Richard Sellers\/Sportsphoto\/Allstar\/Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Rennie was a referee in both the top flight of English football and on the international stage <\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

Rennie made history in 1997 when he officiated a match between Derby County and Wimbledon, becoming the top division’s first black referee.<\/p>\n

Tall in stature and a kick-boxing and aikido expert, protesting players rapidly discovered he was more than comfortable standing his ground during arguments.<\/p>\n

A magistrate in Sheffield since 1996, he has campaigned for issues such as improving equality and inclusion in sport, supporting mental health and tackling deprivation.<\/p>\n

Rennie was on the verge of starting a new role as Sheffield Hallam University chancellor when he was admitted to Northern General Hospital in October.<\/p>\n

“I spent a month laid on my back and another four months sitting in bed,” he says.<\/p>\n

“They kept me in hospital until February, they found a nodule pushing on my spine and it was a rare neurological condition so it’s not something they can operate on.<\/p>\n

“I have had to learn to move all over again, I’m retraining my legs.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Stu Forster\/Allsport\/Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Rennie famously sent off then-England and Newcastle captain Alan Shearer on his 100th appearance for the Magpies<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

“It was strange – I went from running around the city to in essence being in traction for such a long time. <\/p>\n

“I didn’t have any previous back problems but quite suddenly I wasn’t able to move and was in a spinal unit.”<\/p>\n

Discussing his current movement, he says: “I can move my feet and I can stand with a frame attached to my wheelchair but I need to work on my glutes.”<\/p>\n

He jokingly shows the wheelchair scuffs on the skirting boards around his home, with physiotherapy currently taking up much of his day.<\/p>\n

“I rock around in my chair doing my exercises, I’m a very good, compliant patient,” he laughs.<\/p>\n

“It has been frustrating but family and friends have been invaluable, the hospital was absolutely superb and the university has been exceptional.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Rennie spent five months in a spinal unit and has to learn how to walk again<\/figcaption><\/p>\n
\n

He officially starts as university chancellor in May, a position he has been determined to take up despite his recent experiences. <\/p>\n

“I emphasised I wanted to make a difference to Sheffield and to communities here,” he says.<\/p>\n

“I carried on working with community sports teams while in hospital, directing them from my bed.”<\/p>\n

He studied for an MBA at the university during his refereeing career and received an honorary doctorate in 2023 for his work with sport and local communities. <\/p>\n

    \n
  • Sam Allison: Why has it taken 15 years for another black Premier League ref?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    “I’m aiming to be the best I can physically,” he says.<\/p>\n

    “No one has told me I won’t walk again, but even if someone did say that I want to be able to say I did everything I could to try.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    Rennie, who moved from Jamaica to the UK as a young child and grew up in the Wybourn area of the city, says being the first black referee was about “creating a legacy to enable other people to stand on your shoulders”.<\/p>\n

    Discussing his latest challenge, he says the spinal cord compression has given him a new outlook on life. <\/p>\n

    “Lots of people are in wheelchairs, but it doesn’t define them,” he says.<\/p>\n

    “It has made me resilient and forceful and I will never give up – I’m not on my own, there is a village helping me.”<\/p>\n

    He concludes: “I recognise how brittle things are in life now.<\/p>\n

    “I don’t know if I am going to walk fully, but I know what I need to do to try and you must never give up hope.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    ‘I was a Premier League referee, but now I’m learning to walk again’ Lucy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-epl-breaking-news"],"yoast_head":"\nEx-Premier League Referee Uriah Rennie 'learning To Walk Again' - Football World<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/betwealthsuretips.com\/blog\/ex-premier-league-referee-uriah-rennie-learning-to-walk-again\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ex-Premier League Referee Uriah Rennie 'learning To Walk Again' - 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