Tributes have come flooding in for former referee Jack Taylor OBE, who died earlier today at the age of 82.
Taylor made history when he became the first man to award a penalty in a World Cup final between West Germany and Netherlands in 1974.
His career spanned more than 30 years, and included over 1,000 matches, including over 100 international fixtures.
Referee of the 2010 World Cup final Howard Webb was among those to pay tribute to the legndary refree.
Howard Webb: "Jack was the referees' referee: he was a cool character who exuded authority. The great thing about him was that he always had time to pass on advice and I don't think my career would have progressed the way it did without Jack.
"I'm very sad that I'll no longer be able to turn to him for advice and laughter but refereeing in this country is much richer for Jack Taylor."
Former referee Mike Riley: "Every referee of our generation looked up to Jack Taylor because he set the standard. His performances at the 1974 FIFA World Cup inspired a whole generation of referees in this country.
"He never stopped inspiring match officials. Over the last five years he has played an important role for PGMOL passing on his many years of experience to tomorrow's referees. We will miss him greatly."
Football League chairman Greg Clarke: "Jack Taylor set the benchmark for refereeing, not just in this country but across the world, and in later life he applied the same levels of integrity, commitment and sheer love of the game to his other roles in football."
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore: "Jack was one of English football's finest ambassadors who reached the pinnacle of refereeing and, until his very last days, continued to help the development of young referees. The game has lost a great servant and a true friend."
Wolverhampton Wanderers have also announced that they will wear black armbands during tomorrow's friendly against Walsall to honour Taylor, who was born in the city.
Barney Corkhill
