Terry Vaughn
Born(1973-04-01)April 1, 1973
Mount Vernon, Iowa, U.S.
DiedMay 4, 2023(2023-05-04) (aged 50)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationSoccer referee

Terry Vaughn (April 1, 1973 – May 4, 2023) was an American soccer referee.

Early life

Terry Vaughn was born in Mount Vernon, Iowa, on April 1, 1973. He graduated from Iowa City West High School in 1992, where he was a wrestler and soccer player. He attended Coe College and decided to enter refereeing instead of continuing his career as a player.[1]

Career

In 1998 Vaughn became a National referee for the United States Soccer Federation. He continued to hold a referee license until his retirement in 2012. During his career, Vaughn officiated 237 Major League Soccer matches.[2]

Vaughn was appointed to the FIFA panel in 2003 and oversaw matches in the 2009 and 2010 CONCACAF Champions League, the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Vaughn was also a member of the FIFA Panel for the United States Soccer Federation.[2]

Personal life

Vaughn was diagnosed with Huntington's disease, an inherited neurodegenerative disease, at the age of 30 in 2003. He retired from refereeing in 2012 after his symptoms worsened.[3] He died on May 4, 2023.[1]

As a show of solidarity, PRO referees started wearing blue wristbands with "HD" (for Huntington's Disease) during May, Huntington's Disease Awareness Month. [4] This began a trend of referees from grassroots to PRO wearing the bands year - round. US Soccer's official uniform supplier began selling the wristbands with the proceeds going to Terry Vaughn's family to help offset medical costs.[5]

A page on GoFundMe was founded to help Terry and his family pay medical bills by a fellow referee.[6][3]

Legacy

The Iowa Referee Academy has been renamed the Terry Vaughn Referee Academy in his honor.[6][3]

References

  1. 1 2 Ford, Nathan (May 4, 2023). "Terry Vaughn, former FIFA and MLS referee from Eastern Iowa, dies after Huntington's Disease battle". The Gazette. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "MLS mourns the passing of MLS and FIFA referee Terry Vaughn". MLSsoccer.com. May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Boehm, Terry (May 16, 2017). "Soccer community rallies behind Terry Vaughn's battle with Huntington's". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Terry Vaughn: 1973-2023". Professional Referee Organization (PRO). May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Official Sports International". Official Sports International. May 5, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Keefer, Ryan (2016-09-13). "Former MLS referee diagnosed with Huntington's". Black And Red United. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
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