A FOOTBALL tournament has been held in memory of a popular referee who died earlier this year.

Almost £2,000 was raised for charity thanks to a big turnout on Rhosnesni playing fields, also known as the Spider Park, for the inaugural Ian ‘Topman’ Evans Memorial Trophy.

Ian, of Acton, died suddenly in March aged 42.

He worked on the production line at the Kellogg’s factory in Wrexham and officiated at football matches at semi-professional level in the Welsh Premier League, Cymru Alliance and North East Wales Football Association competitions.

Family, friends and workmates turned out in huge numbers to take part, with more than 60 players of all ages paying £10 to play.

Local referees Alex Livesey and Michael Jensen paid the same amount to officiate the matches.

Friends Sion Hale, Gary Pritchard, Stuart Williams, Sam Hassall and Andy Pierce said they had wanted the day to be about enjoyment through football with participation the key theme.

Andy said: “As one of Ian’s colleagues from Kellogg’s had put it, ‘Ian could light up a room’ and for us truer words couldn’t be spoken of him.

“So whilst we wanted the day to be respectful, we also wanted everyone to enjoy themselves, or as Ian would have put it, have a ‘rite laff’.

“We had around 250 spectators turn up, which is a testimony in itself to Ian’s fun-loving character and how well he was thought of in the area.

“It was very heart-warming to see the community coming together for him and his family.”

Ian’s sister Rachel James said: “Seeing everyone here today, all the families watching, and how well Ian was thought of, has been very comforting to the family and we can’t thank them enough.”

Football had been a big part of Ian’s life and he had huge passion for it.

He played during his younger days before deciding to take up refereeing, becoming a well-known and respected match official.

The tournament saw four teams compete for the trophy, kindly donated by Simon Mason, with two sides from Ian’s local pub the Cunliffe, a current and a veterans team, a team of Ian’s workmates from Kellogg’s, and The Acton Vets.

The current Cunliffe team became clear favourites early on, winning both games comfortably to be crowned tournament champions.

The Kellogg’s team were runners-up and in the battle for third and fourth, old adversaries the Cunliffe and The Acton Vets were pitched together.

The Cunliffe took an early first half lead but they conceded a late second half penalty, which Ian’s 12-year-old nephew Rhys superbly put away, taking the game to penalties, with The Acton Vets eventually clinching the third spot.

Huge thanks were given to everyone who helped make this special day a resounding success as post-match drinks were enjoyed back at the Cunliffe Arms.

With the help of some very generous raffle prizes from local businesses and individuals, the raffle helped the total raised on the day reach nearly £1,900.