Bio
Born: | 1966-07-01 |
Intl. since: | 1998-01-01 |
Hometown: | Oudenaarde |
Country: | Belgium ![]() |
Speaks: | Dutch, French, English, German |
Occupation: | Public Relations Manager |
Hobbies: | Golf, Movies, Music, Tennis, Traveling, Running, Squash |
Did you know
FRANK DE BLEECKERE
- Frank de Bleeckere won WorldReferee's golden whistle in 2006 and the bronze whistle in 2008.
- As a teenager after school, Frank was a DJ for a pirate radio station.
- In interviews Frank de Bleeckere stated that he considers humour, making little jokes, essential for a referee. Rather than punishing a player who cursed at him after a decision, he likes to wait till the player makes a mistake and then rub it in.
- In 2004 it was alleged that the Belgian Football Association (KBVB) purposefully ignored the result of a vote by which De Bleeckere lost his number one position in Belgium. Johan Verbist and Paul Allaerts who came up on top of De Bleeckere had a lower FIFA ranking and without some fumbling Belgium wouldn't have a referee at the European Championships.
- In Belgium the referee designator (Jeurissen) is from the province of Limburg and all referees who are not from there complain about his policy of assigning refs from Limburg and Antwerp to important matches. Especially the French speakers say the don't get a chance. Another complaint is that the 3 main refs (De Bleeckere, Allaerts and Gumienny) always choose the same (Dutch speaking) assistants.
- Twice the windows of his home were smashed by angry supporters. After a match between Anderlecht and Club Brugge in 2002, hooligans did some damage to De Bleeckere's house in Volkegem, Belgium.
Ironically, of the three men arrested two were Anderlecht fans and one was a Bruges fan. - When prepairing for a match Frank always makes sure he puts on his left shoe first. He also insists on pasta for lunch on the day of the match and a banana.
- Frank took his own pillow along to the World Cup 2006.
- In real life De Bleeckere is a sales manger for a company that manufactures doors and stairs.
- Not every player reacts the same, so De Bleeckere believes he has to treat them accordingly. Therefore he has to know the players well.
- Frank de Bleeckere has a website. Frank, or someone else writes a blog about his training schedule with pictures of the places he has been to. Mostly of all the guys standing in a stadium with Frank in the middle.
- Frank de Bleeckere here seen with one of his assistants vandalizing the Basel stadium
- Frank (red shirt) )and the other referees of the World Cup Under 20 in Cairo 2009.
- De Bleeckere co-designed and introduced a football shoe especially for referees. It was about time, because referees are not shooters but runners. From the 2009-2010 season it's in use by referees inside Belgium's top league. There are two kinds, for solid and less solid ground. Soon they will be available in blue, a more friendly color; that's better for the image of referees, according to De Bleeckere.
- For big matches Frank made preparations like a football trainer. He studied players, he studied teams; he knew their tactics for corners and free kicks. This knowledge gave him a lead where to be on the field and how to behave during a game.
Statistics
Statistics for FRANK DE BLEECKERE
Totals | Home | Away | Total |
---|---|---|---|
Penalties | 12 | 9 | 21 |
Fouls | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Yellow | 192 | 254 | 446 |
YellowRed | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Red | 12 | 14 | 26 |
Averages | Home | Away | Total |
---|---|---|---|
Penalties | 0.1 | 0.07 | 0.09 |
Fouls | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Yellow | 1.59 | 2.1 | 1.84 |
YellowRed | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Red | 0.1 | 0.12 | 0.11 |
Based on 121 international matches