Arthur George

For the New Zealand cricketer, see Arthur George (cricketer).

For the sportsman, aviation pioneer and businessman, see Arthur Edward George.

Sir Arthur Thomas George AO, born Athanasios Theodore Tzortzatos^[1] (17 January 1915 – 4 September 2013),^[2] was an Australian lawyer and association football administrator.^[3]

Sir Arthur George AO
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)

Early life

George was born in Sydney, Australia to parents of Greek ancestry and was schooled at Kensington Public School.^[4] He later attended Sydney Boys High School from 1928 to 1937 ^[5] before taking the Solicitors Admission Board test and being admitted as a solicitor in 1938.^[3]

Soccer

George was President of the Australian Soccer Federation between 1969 and 1988, and President of the Oceania Football Confederation from 1978 to 1982.

He was part of the FIFA Executive Committee between 1980 and 1994.^[6]

Honours

George was knighted in the 1972 Birthday Honours for services to the Australian-Greek community, universities and sport.^[7][8] He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 1987 Birthday Honours in recognition of service to the community and to education.^[9][10] In 1994, FIFA awarded him the gold Order of Merit—the organisation's highest honour.^[11] He was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 for service to Australian society through law, education and sport.^[12]

Allegations of criminality

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 Sydney Luna Park site by the then NSW government to a company known to have been controlled by notorious Sydney underworld figure Abe 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]

References

1. Cockerill, Michael (27 July 1988). "Mr Soccer won more than he lost". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
2. "Former ASF president Arthur George dies at 98". The World Game. Special Broadcasting Service. 4 September 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2014. During much of his tenure at the ASF, he also served on the FIFA executive, the first Australian to do so.
3. (PDF). Order of Australia Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
4. Tamis, Anastasios M. (2005). The Greeks in Australia. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-54743-1.
5. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. Dempsey, Charles. . Oceania Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 3 March 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
7. United Kingdom list: "No. 45678". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 May 1972. p. 6256.
8. "Knight Bachelor entry for GEORGE, Arthur Thomas". It's an Honour, Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 3 June 1972. Retrieved 11 December 2014. In recognition of service to the Australian/Greek community
9. "THE QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY 1987 HONOURS". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. Special. No. S117. Australia. 8 June 1987. p. 1. Retrieved 28 August 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
10. "Officer of the Order of Australia entry for GEORGE, Arthur Thomas". It's an Honour, Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 8 June 1987. Retrieved 11 December 2014. In recognition of service to the community and to education
11. Key Australian soccer administrator Arthur George dies, aged 98, ABC News, 4 September 2013.
12. "It's an Honour: Centenary Medal". from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
13. › C40 - ...PDF. Allegation No. 27 - Parliament of Australia