Louis Andre Baert (29 December 1903 in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

– 11 July 1969 in Ghent) was an international football referee from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, particularly active during the 1930s. Baert first came to international prominence in the

1934 World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934. The 1934 World Cup was the first in ...

in Italy. He was selected as the referee for the quarter-final match between

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, the hosts, and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Bert initially disallowed an equalising goal from Italy, but changed his decision after protests from the Italian team. In a 2010

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

article, Georgina Turner suggested that

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

's influence may have affected the refereeing at the World Cup. He was selected to run the line with Ivan Eklind in both the semi-final and the final, and went on to have a lengthy international career as a referee. Baert was also the referee for the match during the

1938 World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, bea ...

in which Italy, playing in their infamous ' strip, beat

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in Paris. In total he took part in six World Cup matches. He first refereed internationals on 9 May 1929 and ended on 28 May 1952. After retiring from active football he became a member of the Executive Panel of the Belgian Football Association until his death in 1969.

References

External links

Profile at Worldreferee.com
1903 births 1969 deaths Sportspeople from Ghent Belgian football referees FIFA World Cup referees FIFA World Cup Final match officials 1938 FIFA World Cup referees 1934 FIFA World Cup referees {{Belgium-footy-bio-stub