A tribute to ​Jackie Poucher: Newry’s greatest ever referee

The man from Dominic Street in the centre of our city, had an international career as a firm-but-fair official, taking charge of some of the most high-profile boxing and soccer matches right across the world.

Indeed the globe-trotting Poucher took charge of football and boxing matches from as far apart as the Carnbane league and the Town Hall in Newry to behind the Iron Curtain in Germany and the Olympic Games in Los Angles and Barcelona.

Take boxing first: Jackie began sparring with the Bosco club, under the tuition of the iconic John Fearon, before deciding that perhaps refereeing was a safer option.

He then progressed to the Mid Ulster League and from there he completed a five-year period of refereeing at National and International Championships. He was then invited to referee at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Other high-spots in his boxing refereeing career were the 1989 World Championships in Moscow; the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand; the 1991 World Championship in Sydney, Australia and the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

Furthermore Jackie was the first European to officiate in the 1994 Pan American Games in Argentina.

Plus the Newry man was an integral part of the European Referees and Judges Commission, its first Irishman, and as such he attended regular meetings in various European cities.

Now to football. When Jackie finished playing football in the Carnbane League he took up refereeing, firstly in the Carnbane League.

But Jackie rapidly rose to Irish League standard and soon he was awarded EUFA and FIFA badges. From there Jackie went on to referee in many international matches and was elected onto the FIFA referees’ panel. And in fact his first European match was behind the Iron Curtain when in 1977 he took charge of the Dynamo Berlin v Spartak Moscow game.

His first World Cup match was Sweden v Switzerland and he had the honour of refereeing the last Home International match between Scotland and Wales at Hampton Park.

Plus, he refereed at a whole host of European Cup games and many more international matches. And he also spent one year in the mid-eighties in Qatar refereeing and coaching.

Thus, it was no surprise when he won the 1984 Newry and Mourne Services to Sport award.

The locality will be a much sadder place without Jackie Poucher, without his amazing sporting knowledge … and in particular without his beaming smile.

RIP Jackie. He will be sadly missed by his surviving children Aileen, Jennifer, Ciara and Eithne.