Warner mourns death of top referee

CONCACAF president Jack Austin Warner yesterday expressed deepest regret and sympathy over the passing of former CONCACAF Referees Committee chairman Javier Arriaga Muniz of Mexico.

Also chairman of the Referees Committee in his native Mexico from 1966-1986, his early involvement in football was as a player, but it was in the area of refereeing that he left his mark upon the game at the Mexican, CONCACAF and FIFA level. He became chairman of the CONCACAF Referees Committee and was Refereeing Coordinator for the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. The following year, Arriaga Muniz began 11 years of devoted service as a member of the Referees Committee of  FIFA, where he was consistent in his work to improve the standards and opportunities for game officials in the region. Arriaga Muniz was inducted in the CONCACAF Hall of Fame in 1994. “Everyone within the confederation should be grateful for the time and energy which he put into the game he loved,” said Warner.