VALE – Gary Power
One of Australia’s most decorated referees and Football NSW’s first ever Head of Referees Gary Power has sadly passed away on Tuesday 29th of December after a long battle with cancer.
A well-known and admired Australian football identity and icon to many referees and officials across the country, the 69-year-old held many high-profile positions including instructor roles at Football NSW and Soccer Australia/FFA as well as headlining the Asian Football Confederation as a Director of Referees and was also the Referees’ Expert for the Qatar Football Association.
A FIFA referee in the 90’s which saw him take charge of a number of memorable encounters including World Cup qualifiers, Power played an instrumental role and was the nation’s leading official during the National Soccer League days which saw him take out a plethora of individual officiating awards.
Prior to working in football, Power was a teacher with the NSW Education department for 15 years.
His dedication and passion to the game from a referees’ standpoint was second to none as he will long be remembered for being one of the major innovators in this space which saw him continually improve the standard of officiating in Australia.
A major influence on many of our current and past officials, he was a true mentor and friend to many in our game but most importantly, Power loved the sport dearly and will leave a long lasting legacy.
Football NSW would like to extend its deepest condolences to the Power family, a Legend of our game, may he rest in heavenly peace.