John Blankenstein

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John Blankenstein
Full name John Blankenstein
Born (1949-02-12)12 February 1949
De Bilt, Netherlands
Died 25 August 2006(2006-08-25) (aged 57)
The Hague, Netherlands
Other occupation Head of 'Referee-Affairs Professional Football' of the Royal Dutch Football Association
Domestic
Years League Role
1966–1979 Eerste Divisie Referee
1979–1996 Eredivisie Referee
International
Years League Role
1985–1995 FIFA listed Referee

John Blankenstein (12 February 1949 in

gay rights activist. He was notable for being one of the first homosexual athletes to come out in the Netherlands.[1]

Professional career

As a

football
at local club VCS.

At age 22, when he failed at developing a successful career as a professional football player, he started a career as a referee working for the Royal Dutch Football Association. From 1980 until the end of his career, he refereed 502[2] professional football matches. From 1985 until 1995, Blankenstein worked as a referee in 88 international matches and was on the list of referees of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).

Highlights of his career were the

1992 European Championship
.

In 1994, Blankenstein was selected to referee the

Johan Cruijff and Ronald Koeman, both FC Barcelona players, were from the Netherlands. Blankenstein himself later stated it had been because of him being openly homosexual.[3]

After his career as a referee, Blankenstein became head of 'Referee-Affairs Professional Football' for the Royal Dutch Football Association in the city of Zeist.

Homosexuality

During the 1980s and 1990s, Blankenstein became well known internationally for being one of the first openly homosexual football referees. Blankenstein was active in various anti-discrimination charities and was a celebrity in the Netherlands. For breaking with the taboo on the subject of homosexuality in football, the Dutch LGBT advocacy organization COC Nederland awarded him the Bob Angelo medal in 2003. Until June 2004, Blankenstein was chairman of COC Haaglanden, the branch of COC Nederland in the city of The Hague. During the summer of 2004, he became one of the founders of Homo LesBische Federatie Nederland. In 2005, he was awarded the Harry Stapels Award[4] by the sports organization, NCS, for ten years of supporting the emancipation of homosexual sportsmen and -women.

On Friday, 25 August 2006, Blankenstein died in the Leyenburg Hospital in The Hague, Netherlands due to a rare kidney-related disease.

To continue his work for acceptance of and equal rights for homosexual people in sports, the John Blankenstein Foundation was founded on 18 December 2008.[5] On 13 January 2009, the city of The Hague established an annual award for gay-emancipation and named it the John Blankenstein Award in his honor.[6]

References

  1. ^ Herman, Ryan (2021-06-26). "How football's first openly gay referee shocked the tabloids". The New European. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  2. ^ (in Dutch) Official website of the John Blankenstein Foundation
  3. ISBN 9781604865240. Archived from the original
    on 2020-09-20.
  4. ^ "Harry Stapels Award on the official website of the NCS" (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2013-10-31.
  5. ^ (in Dutch) News-article on the founding of the John Blankenstein Foundation on the official website of COC Nederland
  6. ^ "The Hague To Award Gay Emancipation Prize". The Hague Online. 2009-01-18. Retrieved 2023-08-01.

Literature

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