Refereeing pioneer Davis, former national player Browne die

By Neto Baptiste The football fraternity in Antigua and Barbuda is mourning the loss of two stalwarts of the game, former Antigua and Barbuda Football Referees Association head Ivor Davis and former national and Empire FC player Carver Browne, who both passed away over the weekend. Davis died on Saturday, while Browne passed away on Sunday. Former referee and long-time ABFRA General Secretary Rolston “Rolly” James said Davis played a major role in transforming the image of referees and the referees’ association in Antigua. “Because he was the president, he would do everything.

He would teach us the laws of the game, explain everything, and he would also be the one to deal with the physical part of it, and we would train every Saturday morning or whenever it was. He was the one who really kept the referees’ association going. He was the chief cook and bottle washer, if you want to call it that, and anyone of merit who became a great referee came through his tutelage,” he said. James credits Davis with founding the Referees Association in 1968, saying he immersed himself in the Laws of the Game so he could pass on his knowledge and experience to aspiring referees. “I have been lectured by FIFA instructors, and I don’t think any one of them could hold anything against him. I think…