Uriya Rene became a familiar face for millions of football fans after becoming the first black referee of the Premier League.

When he is described as in charge of the “Best” game in world football and martial arts expert, he now learns to walk again after a rare situation is paralyzed from the waist to bottom.

After spending five months in hospital, the 65-year-old spoke to the BBC News about reforms, the spirit of aggression and a new role.

Rene, who conducted more than 300 main flight devices between 1997 and 2008, was on a birth trip to Turkey last year when he had a sudden back pain.

“I thought I was just asleep instead of the sun. I hoped to go to Parglider, but I couldn’t go because of my back pain,” he said.

“I couldn’t sleep until the end of the holiday, until I got home it was difficult to walk.

Rene made history in 1997 when he made a derby between County and Wimbledon to become the first black referee in the first division.

Height, height and expertise of kickboxing and ikido, the protesters quickly realized that he was more comfortable with stopping the Earth during an argument.

Since 1996, he has been a judge in Sheffield, who has conducted his election campaign such as improving equality and participation in sports, supporting mental health and deprivation.

Rene was on the verge of a new role as a consultant at the University of Sheffield Halam when he was admitted to the Northern General Hospital in October.

“I spent a month on my back and sitting in bed for another four months,” he said.

“They kept me in the hospital until February, they found a knot that pushed my back vertebrae and was a rare nerve condition, so it’s not something they could work on.

“I had to learn to move my legs again.

“It was strange – I went to the city for a long time of gravity while running around the city.

“I had no problems before, but I suddenly couldn’t move and I was in a refraction unit.

“I can move me and I can stand with a framework connected to my wheelchair, but I have to work on my gluttons,” he said.

He jokingly shows the wheel pouring around his house on a script board, which currently covers most of the day physiotherapy.

“I’m going around me in my chair and doing my sports. I’m a very good and committed patient,” he laughs.

“It was annoying, but his family and friends were worthless. The hospital was completely excellent and the university was unique.

It officially begins in May as the president of the university, a post that, despite his recent experiences, has decided to start.

“I emphasized that I wanted to make a difference for Sheffield and for societies here,” he said.

“I continued working with the social teams when I was in hospital, they were directing me from my bed.

He studied MBA at the university and received an honorary doctorate in 2023 because of his work with sports and local communities.

“My goal is to be the best physically,” he says.

“No one told me I won’t walk again, but if someone says I want to be able to say I did everything I could to try.

Rene, who was moved from Jamaica to the UK and grew up in the Wayburn region, says the first black referee was “making a legacy so that others could stand on your shoulders.

In his latest challenge, he says the back pressure has given him a new view of his life.

“Many people are on wheelchairs, but they don’t define them,” he says.

“That’s making me persistent and forced and I’ll never give up – I’m not on myself, there’s a village that helps me.

“I know how broken things are now in life.

“I don’t know if I’m going completely or not, but I know what to do to try and you should never give up hope.