Introduction
Uriah D. Rennie (born 23 October 1959 in Sheffield, England) is a retired top level English football referee.
Career
He began refereeing in 1979 in local leagues, then operated in the Northern Premier League until 1994, at which time he was appointed to the Football League List of referees.
He was given his first Premiership appointment on 23 August 1997, controlling the 2-0 away win by Crystal Palace at Leeds United, goals being scored by Paul Warhurst and Attilio Lombardo.
In 2000, he became a FIFA referee.
He dealt Alan Shearer his first red card in a Newcastle v Aston Villa match in 1999. The reason for the red card was "persistent use of the elbow".
In 2001, he joined the Select Group of professional referees. Keith Hackett, head of the Professional Game Match Officials Board has described him as "the fittest referee we have ever seen on the national and world scene."
He refereed the 2001 (old) Football League Division One Play-off Final between Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, when Bolton won 3-0 with goals from Farrelly, Ricketts and Gardner. Rennie did not show a red or yellow card at all during the match.
At the end of 2004, he retired from the FIFA list, after reaching the compulsory age of 45.
He made his return to active refereeing on 24 November 2007, following a hamstring injury, and handled the Championship match between Scunthorpe United and Hull City, which finished as a 2-1 away win.
In September 2010, Rennie became president of Hallam FC which was celebrating its 150th anniversary season and still playing at the oldest football ground in the world, Sandygate Road in Sheffield.
Career statistics
| Season | Games | Total  | per game | Total  | per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997/1998 | 27 | 102 | 3.78 | 10 | 0.37 |
| 1998/1999 | 27 | 117 | 4.34 | 7 | 0.26 |
| 1999/2000 | 28 | 96 | 3.43 | 10 | 0.36 |
| 2000/2001 | 39 | 82 | 2.10 | 8 | 0.21 |
| 2001/2002 | 34 | 86 | 2.52 | 5 | 0.15 |
| 2002/2003 | 31 | 82 | 2.65 | 10 | 0.32 |
| 2003/2004 | 24 | 79 | 3.29 | 1 | 0.04 |
| 2004/2005 | 31 | 64 | 2.06 | 2 | 0.06 |
| 2005/2006 | 44 | 94 | 2.14 | 5 | 0.11 |
| 2006/2007 | 39 | 123 | 3.15 | 5 | 0.13 |
| 2007/2008 | 21 | 59 | 2.80 | 7 | 0.33 |
(There are no available records prior to 1997/1998)
Life outside football
He practises both kick-boxing and aikido, and has a Master's degree in business administration and law. He is also a magistrate in Sheffield. He is married and has one daughter. He appeared as himself in the BBC Two drama Marvellous, broadcast in September 2014.
In August 2015, he became the referee in the ITV game show, Freeze Out, presented by Mark Durden-Smith.