Remembering György Szilágyi

The renowned economist and administrator played a crucial role in Hungarian and European football for many years and was a much-respected UEFA committee member for three decades.

“He was not just our dedicated colleague, but our good friend as well,” said MLSZ general secretary Márton Vági. “Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time.”

Football laws expert

György Szilágyi started his career as a referee in 1948, and immediately became involved in the educational activities of the Budapest Football Federation.

In 1964, he became educational chairman of the MLSZ referees committee and two years later, he started advising FIFA on football’s laws and refereeing techniques. His professionalism and language knowledge enabled international football rules to be translated into Hungarian, and generations of referees learnt their ‘trade’ from the numerous books he edited.

Between 1989 and 1999, Szilágyi was a member of the Hungarian Football Federation’s executive committee. He chaired the cup committee and international committee, and also represented the federation internationally.

UEFA committee stalwart

Szilágyi also played an important role in UEFA’s activities for many years. He was a member of the UEFA Referees Committee between 1972 and 1974, and went on to serve the European body with great dedication as a member of the Appeals Body (1980–82), and as a long-serving member of the Youth Committee (1982–2000) and Fair Play Committee (1990–2002), playing a key role in developing UEFA’s fair play assessment system.

Szilágyi was a respected figure in various fields, and worked for the United Nations between 1986 and 1990. He regularly gave presentations for the MLSZ and the Hungarian Olympic Committee about the importance of fair play.

He was elected honorary life president of the Hungarian Football Federation in 1999. Szilágyi was also awarded the UEFA Order of Merit in Ruby in 2004.