Snooker referee Len Ganley dies aged 68

Tributes have been paid to snooker referee Len Ganley, who has died at the age of 68.

Ganley, who suffered from diabetes, died at home in his native Northern Ireland after his health deteriorated over recent weeks His funeral will take place in his birthplace Lurgan tomorrow.

The former milkman and bus driver was a keen snooker player himself and, after moving to Burton in England in 1971, became the best-known referee on the circuit during the sport’s boom years in the 1980s, taking charge of his first Crucible final in 1983 and going on to officiate title matches in 1987, 1990 and 1993. He was awarded the MBE for charity work and services to snooker in 1994 and retired from refereeing in 1999. It was his association with the classic UK Championship 1983 final that was his most memorable, as Alex Higgins came back to beat Steve Davis at the Guildhall in Preston. The 1990 Crucible final was also the first won by Stephen Hendry as the Scot became the youngest world champion, beating Jimmy White 18-12 to clinch the title at the age of 21.

He also officiated Ronnie O’Sullivan’s record five-minute 20-second 147 maximum in 1997. “He never took a breath – I actually burst a blood vessel refereeing that match!” joked Ganley.

Six-time world champion Davis, who included the 1983 and 1987 titles among his haul, paid tribute to Ganley. Davis said: “Len did a very good job of being a referee and a personality at the same time. A referee is supposed to be unseen and he liked the limelight, but he still managed to do the job properly. He was a great character off the table, but in the arena he was an excellent referee. He knew the game as a player, having made century breaks himself, so when he was in charge of your match it was nice to know how well he understood the game.”

Ganley, who was one of 11 children, was as colourful a character as some of the big stars of the game in the seventies and eighties, and regularly appeared alongside the likes of Alex Higgins and Dennis Taylor on television.

Taylor said: “Len was one of the great characters in the game of snooker. We travelled all over the world together and no matter where we travelled, he was known as big Len. They took to him everywhere and, with his lovely Northern Ireland accent, he used to be very popular with snooker fans all over the world. He was probably the best-known snooker referee we have had.”

Such was his fame during the 1980s that he appeared in a Carling Black Label advert, crushing a cue ball to dust in his gloved fist.

The World Professional Snooker and Billiards Association published a tribute to Ganley on its website yesterday and noted: “He was also the subject of a song by the band Half Man Half Biscuit called The Len Ganley Stance. Their album sleeve notes bizarrely described him as the ‘godfather of punk’.”

After donning the white gloves as a referee for the last time in 1999, Ganley stayed close to the sport, maintaining a backstage presence on the professional circuit and starting a grass-roots coaching course in Northern Ireland.