Table of Contents
- Uriah Rennie made history by becoming the first black referee in the English Premier League
- He was among the fittest football coaches in the world, with excellent martial arts skills
- Rennie is suffering from a rare neurological condition
Jamaican-born Premier League referee Uriah Rennie is learning to walk again at 65, one year after his lower body was paralysed.
Rennie made history by becoming the first black referee in the English Premier League (EPL). He officiated over 300 EPL matches from 1997 and 2008.
Many people wondered what happened to the Sheffield-based football referee. He was among the fittest football coaches in the world, with excellent martial arts skills.
He had trained in aikido and kickboxing in his teenage years and religiously attended practice sessions in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire. Rennie immigrated to England from Jamaica when he was six years old.
Why is Uriah Rennie Paralyzed?
A rare neurological condition presenting itself as a nodule pushing his spine left Uriah Rennie paralyzed in 2024. He flew to Turkey in October to celebrate his 65th birthday when a sharp back pain engulfed him.
He didn’t worry much about it. He told BBC Sport Africa in a recent interview that he thought the pain was due to a bad resting posture on the sunlounger.
The first black Premier League referee Uriah Rennie. Photo/Premier League
However, the backache didn’t stop forcing him to cancel his paragliding plans. It became unbearable by the time his birthday vacation in Turkey ended.
He couldn’t walk by the time he got back home in Sheffield, forcing him to seek treatment at Northern General Hospital. What followed was a frustrating five months of hospital admission.
Rennie recalls that he spent his first month lying on his back in hospital and another four months seated in his hospital bed. It was in February 2025 that doctors discovered a nodule pushing his spine.
Unfortunately, it’s inoperable. Again, his only option is learning how to move once more. Uriah Rennie can’t believe that he was once a man who moved with ease and performed the most complex martial arts moves.
He has never had any back issues in his past life, which shocked him that he would spend five months in a spinal unit unable to move.
Physiotherapy takes up most of his day as he struggles to regain his mobility. Although he can move his feet, he needs support to stand. He has a frame harnessed to his wheelchair to help him stand.
Rennie takes up a new role as a chancellor for Sheffield Hallam University despite his medical issues. Sheffield community feel he deserves the chancellor post because he remained dedicated to improving sports even when he was in hospital.
The Jamaican received an honorary doctorate in 2023 and has a Master’s degree in law and business administration from Sheffield Hallam University.
Referee Career
Jamaican-born Premier League referee Uriah Rennie. Photo/Daily Mail
Uriah Rennie started his refereeing career in 1979. Local leagues in Northern Premier League sought his expertise until 1994 when he was enrolled to the Football League List.
This meant that he could officiate Premier League games. His official Premiership appointment came in August 1997 between Crystal Palace and Leeds.
FIFA listed him as a professional referee in 2000, and he later joined a Select Group of professional referees in 2001.
He officiated several FIFA matches before retiring from the list of FIFA referees in 2004 upon attaining the age of 45.
Looking back at his history as the first black referee in the Premier League, he is happy that more black referees joined EPL because of him.
More than two decades later, he is not giving up because he is in a wheelchair. According to him, a wheelchair doesn’t define his fighting spirit and the dreams he has.
