Tributes to Sunderland football referee George Tyson, 84

Sunderland referee George Tyson, who has died aged 84, was one of the country's top football officials in the 1980s.

North East referee George Tyson, right, one of the top Football League referees of the 1980s, diffuses tensions in a match involving Gary Lineker (Image: CONTRIBUTOR)

Born on May 22, 1939, George spent his childhood years in Hendon, playing for his junior and senior school teams in both football and cricket.

After having trials with Sunderland AFC for six months, George felt he couldn't make the grade. But he continued playing as an inside forward for Bishops Old Boys, scoring 100 goals.

Injuries in his mid-20s forced him to choose a new path and, on December 12, 1965, he qualified as a Class 3 football referee.

Initially, he found refereeing challenging and went back to playing, but he soon took up the whistle once more – this time with more conviction - and got promoted up through the ranks swiftly.

He refereed in the Wearside Combination League and Wearside League, progressing onto the lineman's list of the Football League in 1973 while continuing to referee in the Northern League.

He was promoted onto the Football League referees list four years later and his first game in the middle was a match between Barnsley and Torquay United on August 23, 1977.

He went on to referee in the Football League for 17 years, officiating games across England, Scotland, and all over the world.

Career highlights include being the English representative in the 1988 pre-Olympic tournament in Korea.

He was linesman for the memorable 1988 FA Cup between Liverpool and Wimbledon, refereed the 1986 Freight Rover Trophy Final between Bolton Wanderers and Bristol City and even refereed in an Egyptian Cup Final - a match often so volatile that Egyptian referees refused to officiate.

George was given the opportunity to referee for a further three years after reaching the official retirement age. He finally stepped down as a Football League referee at the age of 51, becoming a referee’s assessor for a further 16 years.

Former Football League referee George Tyson, who has died aged 84. receiving his 50 year service award in 2016 (Image: CONTRIBUTOR)

A keen golfer, George was chairman of Sunderland Referees Association (RA) for more than 25 years, and on May 16, 2016, he was elected as its president.

The Association's honorary secretary, Colin Burnikell,  paid tribute to his "enthusiasm, passion and commitment," adding: "George will be a great miss to everyone. He was so passionate toward Sunderland RA and as a friend and colleague for over 40 years. I will certainly miss him."

Away from the pitch, George's life was anchored by his family.

He married Christina in 1963 and went on to have two children, Helen and John. The family grew with the addition of grandchildren Grace, Cameron, Will, and Lola.

In his own words, George once said: "I have been very lucky in life. I have a wonderful family around me and I have had what I would call a successful career – can you ask for more."

Family man George Tyson was known for his sense of fun (Image: CONTRIBUTOR)

Among many tributes paid on social media, former referee Keith Hackett said: "I will always remember his mischievous and amusing smile. He was a top-class referee admired by so many.

"He was one of the great referees from the North East and proud of his roots. My condolences to his family and friends."

Football writer Mike Amos described George as "an old friend", adding he was "a great referee and a lovely man".

Writing in his blog, Grass Roots, he recalled an unfortunate incident which resulted in his favourite football photograph taken during an Everton v Norwich City match in 1987.

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"From about five feet, City striker Tony Spearing – appropriately named – had blasted the ball into what euphemistically might be supposed George’s midriff," he said.

Referee George Tyson after being hit from close range by a football in 1987 (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

"The grimace on his face says much, the expression on the liner’s may best be described as unsympathetic. The whole 32,000 crowd thought it hilarious.

"He’d recalled on one of the many occasions I reminded him of it 'if you thought I looked bad on the photograph, that was when I was starting to recover'.”