The South African Football Association (Safa) has confirmed the passing of former referee Ian McLeod after he was admitted to hospital.

McLeod, who officiated matches at the 1997 Fifa Confederations Cup, 1998 Fifa World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations, was admitted to hospital last week, with Safa publicising his death via their official twitter feed.

Former top referee Ian McLeod has passed away. He was admitted in hospital last week & sadly passed on this evening.
May his soul RIP pic.twitter.com/ZNadAH3Lxi

— SAFA.net (@SAFA_net) October 26, 2017

The former official was aged 63 at the time of his death and was a senior referees manager at Safa.

Photo: Gallo Images