Author: Ben van Maaren
Leo Horn and the 1974 World Cup – Leo Horn
Outline Just over 40 years ago the Orange Machine lit up the world, astounding it with “total football”. If people are wondering at the bickering, whining and extreme attention paid to football these days, especially in the run-up to a World Cup, they’d be surprised to learn it was not much different 40 years ago. […]
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The Man in the Middle – Mervyn Griffiths
Outline Benjamin Mervyn Griffiths was a contemporary of Arthur Ellis, whose Refereeing round the World I reviewed here some time ago. While Ellis became something of a celebrity due to his mannerisms and thirst for recognition, the modest Welshman Griffiths depended solely on his fairness and exceptional fitness, and it took him right to the […]
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Africa in the Dutch Polders
This article was first published, in Dutch, in the Dutch football culture magazine Staantribune. It is reproduced here with the publisher’s permission. Eritrean National Football Team Playing in Dutch Town By Herman Joustra Photography: Thijs Brouwers A chilly autumn evening in Gorinchem, a picturesque Dutch city about 30 km east of Rotterdam. The last rays […]
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Soccer Refereeing. A Personal View – Jack Taylor
Outline John Keith Taylor, better known as Jack Taylor, is best known for officiating the 1974 World Cup final during which he awarded a penalty in the very first minute of play, creating World Cup history, as it was the first penalty kick ever awarded in a World Cup final. He also, famously, yellow-carded Johan […]
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Soccer Referee: A guide to fitness & technique – Clive Thomas
Outline Known as “The Book” for his strict interpretation of the laws of the game, Clive Thomas is one of the better known British referees from the 1970s and 1980s. My Dutch readers may remember him as the somewhat high-handed referee who sent off Willem van Hanegem at the 1976 European Championships or the referee […]
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Refereeing round the World – Arthur Ellis
Outline A typical example of a 1950s biography: short chapters in which the writer (assisted by Kenneth Wolstenholme, a well-known sports reporter from the time) looks back on the highs and lows of his career. Although it serves the readability of this consequently short book (195 pages only), it does mean Ellis’s account does not […]
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Twee keer geel is rood (Two yellows make a red) – John Blankenstein
Outline Twice I had the pleasure of meeting in person John Blankenstein, who passed away nine years ago, almost to the day. He was an insightful, empathic man, who chose his words carefully but managed to work some humour in there anyway. He carried this characteristic over into this small book, using this medium to […]
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Masterclass for Soccer Officials – Stanley Lover
Outline A former referee, FIFA referees instructor in all six football confederations and chairman of the London Referees Association, Stanley Lover enjoyed the respect of many throughout the latter part of the 20th century. Not least because he also authored many refereeing classics, including Soccer Match Control, an excellent book which not only explains the […]
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I’ll have a ref, thank you – by: Jan Vorstenbosch
This essay was published over two years ago (early 2013) in Dutch daily Trouw. The author is Jan Vorstenbosch, a philosopher and football expert. A researcher at the University of Utrecht, he also teaches ethics there. In 2010 he published “Voetbalgek”, his philosophical reflections on all things football. Jan reacted with great enthusiasm to my request […]
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Whose Side Are You On, Ref? – Norman Burtenshaw
Brief outline Not the best-known British referee from his time, Norman Burtenshaw still spent 11 years reffing at football’s top level and was awarded the 1971 FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Liverpool. It shows he must have been quite capable after all. His memoirs mark him out as a rather strait-laced person, not atypical […]
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