The Premier League’s first black referee, Uriah Rennie, has opened up on his battle to walk again after being diagnosed with a rare condition that left him paralysed from the waist down.
Rennie, 65, refereed over 300 top flight matches between 1997 and 2008, and was once branded the ‘fittest’ official in world football.
But his world was turned upside down last year while on holiday in Turkey after he started feeling severe pain in his back.
Rennie was subsequently told by doctors that he had an inoperable neurological condition, and he has revealed how he is now wheelchair-bound after spending several months in hospital.
‘I spent a month laid on my back and another four months sitting in bed,’ he told BBC News.
‘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.
Ex-Premier League referee Uriah Rennie (pictured) is learning to walk again after being diagnosed with a rare condition
‘I have had to learn to move all over again, I’m retraining my legs.
‘I can move my feet and I can stand with a frame attached to my wheelchair but I need to work on my glutes.’
Rennie was set to start a new job as Sheffield Hallam University chancellor when he was admitted to hospital.
He has refused to let his diagnosis derail his plans to help his local community, revealing he still worked from his hospital bed, and he will now officially start his new position next month.
More to follow…
