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| 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 theRoyal 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 inDe Bilt – 25 August 2006 inThe Hague) was a Dutchfootball referee andgay rights activist. He was notable for being one of the firsthomosexual athletes tocome out in theNetherlands.[1]
As achild, Blankenstein moved with his family to the city of The Hague, where he later playedfootball 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 theRoyal 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 theUEFA Cup final in 1993 and being chosen to referee in the1992 European Championship.
In 1994, Blankenstein was selected to referee the1994 UEFA Champions League Final betweenAC Milan andFC Barcelona, only to be replaced by EnglishmanPhilip Don a few days before the match. The contents of the official decision were never made public, but it was said that it was becauseJohan Cruijff andRonald 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 ofZeist.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Blankenstein became well known internationally for being one of the first openly homosexualfootball referees. Blankenstein was active in various anti-discrimination charities and was a celebrity in the Netherlands. For breaking with thetaboo on the subject of homosexuality in football, the DutchLGBTadvocacy organizationCOC 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 ofThe Hague. During the summer of 2004, he became one of the founders ofHomo LesBische Federatie Nederland. In 2005, he was awarded the Harry Stapels Award[4] by the sports organization, NCS, for ten years of supporting theemancipation of homosexual sportsmen and -women.
On Friday, 25 August 2006, Blankenstein died in the Leyenburg Hospital in The Hague, Netherlands due to a rarekidney-related disease.
To continue his work for acceptance of and equal rights for homosexual people in sports, theJohn 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 theJohn Blankenstein Award in his honor.[6]
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