Hereford Referee Dies

It has been announced that the well known Herefordshire football referee Jim Finney died in Hereford hospital this morning.

Finney had a spell in the Licensed trade before working for Hereford United.

In a tribute to him former player and manager Colin Addison spoke to BBC Hereford and Worcester.

"He refereed me many times in the sixties in the old first division. A great referee, great character. Always had a word for you. Sometimes a harsh word.

"A great international referee. Always very well respected by all sides and all managements."

A minute's silence in memory of Finney took place before the start of this evening's match at Edgar Street.

This from Wikipedia:

After being appointed to the Football League list in 1959, he refereed the Amateur Cup final of that year. Finney then took charge of the 1962 FA Cup Final between Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley. Though the normal practice at the time was for the winning captain to keep the match ball, Danny Blanchflower presented Finney with the ball at the end of the game. He is reported to be one of five freemasons to have refereed the FA Cup Final.

Finney had been held in high regard within the domestic game for some time before this match. He was appointed as a linesman in the first European Nations Cup Final held in Paris in 1960, assisting Ken Aston. In May 1963, Finney was also the referee during the Scotland versus Austria match at Hampden Park, which he abandoned after 79 minutes. Finney later expressed concern that he thought "somebody would have been seriously hurt".

Later he was selected as one of the English referees at the 1966 World Cup, gaining some notoriety there for his handling of the Uruguay versus West Germany quarter-final in which he sent off Horacio Troche and Héctor Silva. That was the same day on which the German referee Rudolf Kreitlein sent off Argentinian player Antonio Rattin at Wembley, leading to a suggestion of partiality against the European referees.

He officiated at the 1971 League Cup final at Wembley, and had already been given the European Cup final at the same venue, but injuries suffered in a road accident suddenly ended his career before it took place. His position in that European final was taken by Jack Taylor.

He later became an official at Hereford United, and was secretary of Cardiff City.

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