TRIBUTES were paid last night to David Taylor, one of Scottish football's most successful administrators, after he died in hospital in Glasgow after a short illness.

He was 60.

Mr Taylor became the Scottish Football Association's first chief executive in 1999 and was recruited by the game's European governing body, UEFA, in 2007, as general secretary. He was made executive director of UEFA and later took over an agency created to manage the distribution of rights to European football events.

Born in Forfar, Mr Taylor was educated in Dundee and Edinburgh University. He was the first director of Scottish Trade International prior to joining the SFA.

"On behalf of his friends and former colleagues at the Scottish FA, and throughout Scottish football, I would to express our profound sadness at the tragic news of David's death," said SFA President Campbell Ogilvie.