When the Deepdale announcer famously welcomed the teams back on to the pitch with `Welcome back to the Uriah Rennie Show` he really wasn't too far off the mark. The referee was a self-publicist to end them all, and he always seemed more interested in gaining attention for himself rather than actually officiating matches. He went down in history with Newcastle fans by sending off Alan Shearer in his 100th game, showing two yellows for "persistent elbowing" during a game that the ref had let go beyond him early in the first half. The resulting witch-hunt against Rennie - including Ruud Gullit being restrained after the match, somewhat hilariously - changed the image of the referee from respected figure to trigger-happy clown, and his reputation was pretty much ruined. From there, he showed his perceived aversion to Newcastle by refereeing Toon matches with very little skill, and lots of bias (at least from a fan perspective) - and you really have to suspect he held a major grudge.
