Ian McLeod’s passing on Thursday at a time when he was still actively involved in refereeing as a match commissioner was a loss to South African football‚ former compatriots have said.
McLeod‚ who became the first South African to referee at a World Cup at France 1998‚ died in Pretoria aged 63.
Ex-referee Errol Sweeney’s career preceded McLeod’s‚ and Andile “Ace” Ncobo refereed in the Premier Soccer League later.
Assistant-referee Ari Soldatos‚ along with Achmat Salie‚ who ran the line in the final‚ both also officiated at France 1998.
“In the 1980s Ian was a pioneer and one of the first white referees to enter into the then-NSL [National Soccer League]‚” Soldatos said.
“There were others like Stan Swart‚ but they never were able to make the impact on the international stage that Ian did.
“He got those opportunities after South Africa was readmitted to international sport‚ and I remember officiating the 1997 Caf Champions League final with him and‚ of course‚ the 1998 World Cup.
“But one thing about Ian was that it wasn’t only about his understanding of his application of himself to refereeing. He always looked at the bigger picture and to development‚ and always wanted to be a part of improving refereeing.
“And the unfortunate thing is that he was just busy doing just that as Safa’s referees manager.”
Sweeney mentored and prepared McLeod‚ Soldatos and Sali ahead France 1998‚ where McLeod blew one match‚ the 0-0 Group D draw between Spain and Paraguay.
After his retirement McLeod was head of the South African Football Association’s referees technical committee and served as a match commissioner for PSL and National First Division games.
“He had a huge contribution to refereeing in South Africa. And the big thing about Ian was that he was always just such a nice guy‚” Sweeney said.
“I don’t remember ever seeing him being angry or shouting. He was always very pragmatic and diplomatic.”
Former PSL general manager Ncobo said McLeod’s passing was a loss to SA football.
“People may not understand this loss but he was a match commissioner‚ referees’ assessor and mentor‚” Ncobo said.
“As an assessor‚ after matches he would sit with the referees and evaluate their performances before submitting a report to Safa. We have lost a rare breed of referee who officiated at the highest level.
“He was at the Fifa World Cup and we have not had a chance to celebrate and recognise him properly while he was alive. His death is a loss to referees who looked up to him for mentorship.”
TimesLIVE is informed that McLeod went into hospital last week for a routine procedure.
He then drove to Thohoyandou on Saturday to be match commissioner in the National First Division game between Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila and Stellenbosch FC‚ then apparently drove home to Pretoria and went to sleep.
On Sunday morning McLeod’s wife apparently could not wake him and he was taken back to hospital.
The former referee was headmaster of Crawford Preparatory School in Pretoria at the time of his death.
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