CAPE TOWN, Aug 9: Former South African umpire Rudi Koertzen, along with three other people died in a car accident near Riversdale on Tuesday, a news report revealed.
The 73-year-old Koertzen was on his way back home from Cape Town to Despatch in Eastern Cape, after a golf weekend when the tragic incident took place.
His son, Rudi Koertzen Jr said that his father died on impact.
“He went on a golf tournament with some of his friends, and they were expected to come back on Monday, but it seems they decided to play another round of golf”, Koertzen Jr told South African outlet Algoa FM News.
Koertzen officiated in 331 international matches, a record at the time of his retirement in 2010. Along with Aleem Dar and West Indies’ Steve Bucknor, he was one of only three umpires to stand in over 100 Tests.
Koertzen’s first international series was India’s tour of South Africa in 1992-93 as his first game was the second ODI in Port Elizabeth.
He was one of the most well-respected umpires in the world, and won praise in September 1999 for refusing a bribe to manipulate a match between West Indies and India. (IANS)
