Jan Keizer

Johannes Nicolaus Ignacius Keizer was a Dutch football referee. He became a referee in 1957and went on to be one of the best-known and respected Dutch referees. Keiser made his début in the Eredivisie in 1965, and in 1974 became an international referee and took part in all the major FIFA club and international tournaments in the world.

In 1983 Keizer officiated at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Mexico, and the following year refereed the semi-final of the Cup Winners’ Cup between Manchester United and Juventus FC. Also in 1984, he officiated in the final phase of the UEFA European Football Championship in France where he refereed West Germany v. Romania game (2:1). That year he went to the Los Angeles Olympics and was assigned three matches, including the final between France and Brazil (2:0).

In 1986, Keizer officiated in the semi-final of the UEFA Cup between Real Madrid and Inter Milano and was subsequently selected for that year`s FIFA World Cup in Mexico, where he was entrusted with the big match between Italy and Argentina, and the round-of-16 match between Spain and Denmark. Keizer ended his international career by refereeing the return leg of the 1988 UEFA Cup final between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Espanyol Barcelona, which the Germans won on penalties. During his career, Keizer officiated in 380 matches at national level and 172 internationals.