Jack Taylor - Referee Jack Taylor Passes Away Aged 82

In the week that the preliminary rounds of the Olympic football tournament kicked off in his home country, former English referee Jack Taylor - who officiated at the pinnacle of the sport at the World Cup Final in 1974 - has passed away today aged 82 years old. The Daily Telegraph reports that Taylor officiated more than 1,000 matches in a career that spanned over 30 years - a phenomenal feat of fitness - although for many he'll forever be synonymous with just the one match: the 1974 World Cup Final between West Germany and the Netherlands in Munich.

Taylor made history in that match after awarding a penalty to the Netherlands after just a minute of play. It was the first ever to be awarded in a World Cup final and he managed to do the same thing just 26 minutes later after awarding West Germany a penalty of their own. Both sides scored with their kicks but it was the West Germans who ultimately went on to win the match.

Taylor's first major final that he took charge of was the FA Cup Final at Wembley in England in 1966, whilst he also refereed at Wembley again in the 1971 European Cup Final between Ajax and Panathinaikos. For his efforts towards the game, Taylor was inducted into the FIFA Hall of Fame in 1999.