Respected former South African referee Ian McLeod passed away on Thursday night.

South African Football Association communications manager Dominic Chimhavi confirmed to TimesLIVE that  well-known McLeod was admitted into hospital after telling his wife that he was not feeling well.

“He was match commissioner at a recent national first division match and on his return home he told his wife that he was not feeling well‚” Chimhavi said.

“He was admitted into hospital and sadly passed away on Thursday night.”

McLeod became  the first South African  to referee in a Fifa World Cup when  he officiated in the 1998 global showpiece in France.

He was restructuring the referees’ structures at Safa at the time of his death.