Louis Andre Baert (29 December 1903 – 11 July 1969) was an international football referee from

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

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

1934 FIFA World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the 2nd edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for List of men's national association football teams, senior men's national teams. It took place in Kin ...

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

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, the hosts, and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. 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 a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

article, Georgina Turner suggested that

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his overthrow in 194 ...

's influence may have affected the refereeing at the World Cup. He was selected to run the line with

Ivan Eklind Ivan Henning Hjalmar Eklind (15 October 1905 – 23 July 1981) was a referee (association football), football referee from Sweden best known for officiating the 1934 FIFA World Cup final between Italy national football team, Italy and Czechoslova ...

in both the semi-final and the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, and went on to have a lengthy international career as a referee. Baert was also the referee for the match during the

1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the 3rd edition of the FIFA World Cup, World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held in France from 4 to 19 June 1938. Italy national ...

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

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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

Royal Belgian Football Association The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA; ; ; ) is the governing body of football in Belgium. It was a founding member of FIFA in 1904 and UEFA in 1954 and was based in Brussels, not far from the King Baudouin Stadium. Since October 2021, th ...

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 finals match officials 1938 FIFA World Cup referees 1934 FIFA World Cup referees {{Belgium-footy-bio-stub