Arthur George | |
|---|---|
| Born | Athanasios Theodore Tzortzatos (1915-01-17)17 January 1915 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 4 September 2013(2013-09-04) (aged 98) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Education | Sydney Boys High School |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Years active | 1938–1980 |
| Spouse | Renee Freeleagus (married 1939) |
Sir Arthur Thomas GeorgeAO, bornAthanasios Theodore Tzortzatos[1] (17 January 1915 – 4 September 2013),[2] was an Australian lawyer andassociation football administrator.[3]
George was born inSydney,Australia to parents of Greek ancestry and was schooled at Kensington Public School.[4] He later attendedSydney Boys High School from 1928 to 1937[5] before taking the Solicitors Admission Board test and being admitted as a solicitor in 1938.[3]
George was President of theAustralian Soccer Federation between 1969 and 1988, and President of theOceania Football Confederation from 1978 to 1982.
He was part of theFIFA Executive Committee between 1980 and 1994.[6]
George wasknighted in the1972 Birthday Honours for services to the Australian-Greek community, universities and sport.[7][8] He was appointed anOfficer of the Order of Australia in the1987 Birthday Honours in recognition of service to the community and to education.[9][10] In 1994,FIFA awarded him the goldOrder of Merit—the organisation's highest honour.[11] He was awarded theCentenary Medal in 2001 for service to Australian society through law, education and sport.[12]
Arthur George featured in a long-suppressed report titled "Allegation No. 27", which was tendered to a 1986 federal parliamentary commission of inquiry into allegations regarding the suspected corrupt awarding of the lease on the SydneyLuna Park site by the then NSW government to a company known to have been controlled by notorious Sydney underworld figureAbe Saffron. The report identified George as a friend and business associate of Saffron and named George as one of the witnesses who would need to be interviewed for further investigation of the allegation.[13]
During much of his tenure at the ASF, he also served on the FIFA executive, the first Australian to do so.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)In recognition of service to the Australian/Greek community
In recognition of service to the community and to education
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