To keep fit, Iory would do a lot of road work around the valleys and often run all the way to Dowlais and back, he also attended the gymnasium. Iory was also a keen cricketer and liked playing badminton and bowls; he really was a very fit man, despite his earlier problems with his knee.
On the 20th September 1967 he ventured into Europe and officiated in Switzerland at a European Cup Winners Cup game at the Stadium Olympique Pontaisen. It was to be the first of many European adventures of Iory. He was also the referee at the Welsh cup final between Cardiff City and Hereford later that season….both John Toshack and John Charles played in that two legged final which Cardiff City won 6-1.
Into 1968 and Iory was 40 years old and into his third season as a top referee, he was making many friends in the football world and was respected by some of the games biggest names, Bill Shankley, George Best, Bill Nicholson to name just a few. He would often travel to games with his wife Meg and they would be greeted by club commissionaires and often Meg would get treated like royalty, especially by Shankley at Liverpool.
Often before matches, Iory would be in a room that was filled with a buffet for him and the linesmen and the press would pop in, people like Jimmy Hill, Brian Moore and Ken Gorman and the press men would often devour all the food before the officials had a chance to get a sandwich, but it was all good fun and Iory had a good relationship with many from the press but he was well aware that not all of them were genuine and he had to be careful at times in what he said.
In September he was abroad again, in the middle with two Welsh Linesmen at his side for another European match, this time in Cologne, his reputation was growing.
In 1969 he became part of a new refereeing scheme called the elite referees, to cover the most difficult games, another testament to the respect that Iory had earned. He was now classed as one of the top referees in Great Britain, along side other top refs such as G. Kew, W. Gow, Leo Callaghan and Jack Taylor. In October he reffed the famous Benfica and Eusebio and he also officiated a vital World cup qualifying match in Luxemburg.
During 1970 he had the honour of being one of only four British referees chosen to attend an International course of referees in Florence.
He also was held in high esteem in Europe and was chosen to ref behind the Iron Curtain in East Berlin, which was an amazing experience in those days. Cameras and secret police everywhere and his interpreter always had to accompany him and his linesmen wherever they went. It was freezing cold there and Iory was seriously considering calling off the game due to a frozen pitch, however he was assured it would be playable. 200 soldiers were sent to the stadium and the completely removed the thick ice and top layer of grass to make the match safe to play, the stadium was full to capacity and Iory claims it was one of the best games of football he ever had the pleasure to referee in.
On the 16th February 1970 he received a letter from the Association of Football league referees and linesmen, informing him that he had been appointed to the reserve list of referees for the upcoming world cup finals in Mexico. A truly magnificent honour, he was sent a full supply of kit from Slazenger, all red. Unfortunately he never got to make the trip, the F.A.W. decided not to send him over, even though there was a fourth reserve Russian referee sent over by the Russian FA.
July 1970, and the disappointment of not making the trip to Mexico was offset by the fact that once again Iory was appointed to the list of referees for matches of E.U.F.A. competitions for the following season. In November he was appointed to ref the biggest match in round two of the European cup, Athletico Madrid v Calgari, a 1-0 victory for the home side in a game that Iory excelled in.
He often had Welsh linesmen with him on trips to officiate in Europe and on May 12th 1971, he was awarded the Nations cup match in Berne between Switzerland and Greece, the two linesmen were from Swansea, Tom Reynolds and Trevor Jenkins. June 1971 and once again Iory was appointed for another year to referee European matches.
In 1972, Iory ran the line with W. J. Gow (Swansea) referee in an England v Northern Ireland match at Wembley, some of the superstars that played that day included, Gordon Banks, Norman Hunter, Alan Ball, Rodney Marsh and for Ireland Pat Jennings, Terry Neill , Pat Rice, George Best and Sammy McIlroy
Iory continue to gain plaudits for his quiet but fair approach to refereeing and he continued to get International matches and big games, however he never got to referee an F.A. Cup final, he got very close and short listed but lost out to an English man called P. Partridge and in true Valley fashion he took it on the chin saying “Well it’s only fair really because I have officiated at a Welsh Cup final that the English Final be done by an Englishman”
To be continued….
Many thanks to Paul Corkrey for allowing me to use this article. To view the original please go to https://www.treharrisdistrict.co.uk/treharris-areas/trelewis/history/