Taylor, former chief executive of the Scottish Football Association (SFA), passed away at home after being taken ill while on holiday in Turkey, UEFA confirmed. 

In 2011 Taylor suffered a near fatal heart attack as he left his office at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, for a football match against a FIFA team.

He stopped breathing before medics managed to revive him with a defibrillator machine.

SFA President, Campbell Ogilvie, paid tribute to his "astute, forward-thinking and passionate" predecessor.

Taylor had been the first chief executive of the SFA in 1999, succeeding long-serving secretary Jim Farry.

David Taylor was head of UEFA events after leaving the Scottish Football Association, where he had been the first chief executive ©UEFA

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

"I would also wish to send our deepest condolences to his wife Cathy, and their children James and Alan, at this dreadful time.

"David was a solicitor to trade but it was his love of Scottish football and, in particular, the Scotland national team that stirred his passion during his tenure as chief executive.

"He was great company, had an astute business mind and a forward-thinking approach to the game that, allied to his patriotism as a member of the Scotland Supporters Club, helped take the Scottish FA forward administratively.

"It was no surprise to any of us who witnessed his work at close hand when UEFA came calling for his services as general secretary in 2007.

"He has remained a friend and supporter of the Scottish FA and the game in general in this country and he will be dearly missed by all of us."

Born in Forfar in 1954, Taylor was educated at Dundee High School before graduating from Edinburgh University with an LLB degree.

He qualified as a solicitor and practised until 1985, during which time he added to his legal qualifications with an MSc in Economics, and an MBA.

He joined the Scottish Development Agency in 1985, and held a succession of senior positions before being appointed the first director of Scottish Trade International, a body set up to promote Scottish business overseas, prior to his appointment to the SFA.

He had been working for UEFA as its chief executive of its events.

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