Uriah Rennie, the Premier League’s first Black referee, dies at 65

SHEFFIELD, England (AP) — Uriah Rennie, the first Black referee in the Premier League, has died. He was 65.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our former chair and trailblazing referee, Uriah Rennie," the Sheffield and Hallamshire County Football Association posted Sunday on X.

“Uriah made history as the Premier League’s first Black referee, officiating over 300 top-flight matches between 1997 and 2008," the statement said. "He broke down barriers, shaped our football community and inspired generations to come."

The Jamaica-born official grew up in Sheffield, northern England, and oversaw hundreds of matches starting with his breakthrough appointment when Derby hosted Wimbledon in August 1997. That game was abandoned, however, because the stadium lighting failed.

Rennie told BBC News in April how, while on holiday in Turkey last year, he felt severe pain in his back and doctors discovered he had an inoperable neurological condition that confined him to a wheelchair.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - Premier League referee Uriah Rennie in Liverpool, England, Nov. 3, 2006. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP, File)

FILE - Premier League referee Uriah Rennie gestures in Liverpool, England, April 11, 2006. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP, File)

FILE - Referee Uriah Rennie looks on as Newcastle United's Lee Bowyer, bottom, has a tussle with Southampton's Neil McCann during their English Premier League soccer match at St James' Park, Newcastle, England, Saturday Jan. 15, 2005. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s motorcade took a different route than usual to the airport as he was departing Florida on Sunday due to a “suspicious object,” according to the White House.

The object, which the White House did not describe, was discovered during security sweeps in advance of Trump’s arrival at Palm Beach International Airport.

“A further investigation was warranted and the presidential motorcade route was adjusted accordingly,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Sunday.

The president, when asked about the package by reporters, said, “I know nothing about it.”

Trump left his Palm Beach, Florida, club, Mar-a-Lago, around 6:20 p.m. for the roughly 10-minute drive to the airport, but took a circular route around the city to get there.

During the drive, police officers on motorcycles created a moving blockade for the motorcade, at one point almost colliding with the vans that accompanied Trump.

Air Force One was parked on the opposite side of the airport from where it is usually located and the lights outside the plane were turned off.

Anthony Guglielmi, the spokesman for U.S. Secret Service, said the secondary route was taken just as a precaution and that “that is standard protocol.”

President Donald Trump departs Trump International Golf Club in the presidential limousine, known as The Beast, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)