- Leo Horn
Leopold ("Leo") Sylvain Horn (born
August 29 ,1916 inSittard – diedSeptember 16 ,1995 ) was an internationalfootball (soccer) referee , newspaper columnist and textile manufacturer from theNetherlands .econd World War
Horn came to prominence as a referee after the
Second World War . During the War Horn fought with theDutch Resistance and had been awarded a black belt injudo . Horn was suspended from refereeing by aDutch Football Association on orders of the annexed Dutch Government on account of beingJewish , in 1941. His brother, Edgar Horn, was murdered in aconcentration camp . [http://www.ajax-usa.com/history/kuper/the-brilliant-ajax-part-one.html]International Football
In the 1950s he was placed in charge of the
England v Hungary (1953) international atWembley Stadium and refereed the secondEuropean Champions' Cup final in 1957. Horn is one of only four men to have refereed twoEuropean Champions' Cup finals, he refereed the 1963 version betweenBenfica andReal Madrid . It was during that game that he courted controversy when denying Madrid a penalty claim and being surrounded by their players.Ferenc Puskás was seen to throw something into the crowd.Ken Jones , an English journalist, later asked Horn why he had not cautioned Puskás. Horn replied: "What you don't know is that I threw my whistle at Puskás," Horn said. "It hit him in the ear." (It was the whistle that Puskás had thrown into the crowd. [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20050204/ai_n9499359]Controversy
Toward the end of his career Horn was appointed to referee the
Leeds United v Valencia match in theInter Cities Fairs Cup onFebruary 2 ,1966 . Jack Charlton, after being struck by a Valencian player, struck out and a free-for-all ensued, only to be broken up by the police. Horn lead both sides off the pitch, expelling Charlton and Vidagany in the tunnel. Of this game,Jack Charlton said: "One of the greatest storms in European football burst about the heads of Leeds United when they played Valencia. I was in the centre of the row - three players, including myself, were ordered off; both teams were also summoned from the field for a spell to allow heated tempers to cool" Horn claimed: 'Money was the cause of the trouble. You could almost smell it on the pitch.'Don Revie , said: 'If this is European football I think we are better out of it'." [http://leedsunited.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=888&stid=8085496&p=2]He refereed his last match Ajax v
Bulgaria onAugust 31 ,1966 . In business Horn was made bankrupt in 1994 after a quarrel with the textile manufacturerGustave Richheimer . Horn became a firm friend of Abraham Klein later in life.
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