Gibraltarian hockey umpire Nathan Stagno received the men’s Umpire of the Year award from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) for their Hockey Stars 2015 Awards.

Nathan received the men’s Umpire of the Year award having also recently received an FIH Golden Whistle.

He became the first Gibraltarian to make 100 senior umpire appearances during the Hero Hockey World League Final in Raipur, India last year.

Nathan has officiated at some of the sport’s biggest competitions, including the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Rabobank Hockey World Cup 2014 in the Hague, as well as two Champions Trophy events and a Commonwealth Games.

These awards are further recognition for Nathan who was selected by FIH to attend the Rio 2016 Olympic Games next summer, together with Michelle Joubert who walked away with the women’s Umpire of the Year award.

Speaking about the Awards, FIH President, Leandro Negre, said: “Well done to our golden generation of umpires as well, which now includes Michelle and Nathan who have been rightfully recognised for their excellent performances on the field whilst officiating at our events last year.”

The Chief Minister Fabian Picardo took to Twitter to congratulate Nathan on his “outstanding achievement”.

Mr Picardo said: “Many congratulations to Nathan Stagno for his fantastic win as ‪@FIH_Hockey Men's Umpire of the Year! ‪#ProudOfThisGibraltarian.”





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