De Bleeckere (Better Than Fandel!) Will Referee Russia/Spain Euro Semi-Final

Belgium referee Frank De Bleeckere was picked today to referee the second Euro 2008 Semi-final match Russia vs. Spain. The match will be played this thursday at Ernst Happel Stadium in Wien. The kickoff time is 20:45 H. Frank De Bleeckere has already reffed two other Euro 2008 matches: Croatia vs. Germany and Russia vs. Sweden. Throughout this tournament he has done a good job officiating matches. He shows non-partiality (unlike some referees such as Fandel) and makes good calls. Few disagreed with the red card that he showed Schweinsteiger. De Bleeckere will be accompanied by his two assistants Peter Hermans and Alex Verstraeten. Referee profile:
Nationality: Belgium.
Birth Date: Jul 1, 1966.
Birth Place: Oudenaarde, Belgium.
Height: 182 cm.
Weight: 70 kg.
Referee since 1984.
Referee of the year (Belgian Jupiler League) in 200, 2001, 2002, 2003.
FIFA Badge: 1998.
Occupation: Public Relations Manager.
Languages: English, Flemish, French, German.
Tournaments:
1998 European Under-16 Championship
2001 Meridian Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
2003 FIFA Under-20 World Cup
UEFA Euro 2004 qualification
Euro 2004
2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
FIFA World Cup 2006
UEFA Euro 2008 qualification
UEFA Euro 2008
UEFA Champions League
Notable Match: FIFA World Cup 2006 qualifier Turkey vs. Switzerland.
Interests: Movies, music.

Glad to see that Spain won’t get bad calls again like yesterday’s match against Italy. I hate when a referee negatively impacts matches. The ref’s favoritism was absolutely ridiculous such as the numerous times he stopped Spain’s attack when an Italian feigned an injury. Some quotes about Fandel’s poor officiating: “With Herbert Fandel, a German piano player as a referee who seemed so intent on blowing his whistle that he seldom allowed a flow to the play, we were clearly in for a long night of patience” (iht.com), “Fandel was awful tonight. I won’t say that he made mistakes - rather, he seemed to be either completely aloof of various calls or too harsh on others. Ironically enough, it appeared that he was blatantly favoring the Italians. I remember watching the Spain - N. Ireland qualifier, and much like in this match, he denied the Spaniards a clear penalty. That being said, whether or not the Italians had his ear, their strategy to allow him to call the match their way did not have the desired effect. Without a doubt this will be Fandel’s last match of the tournament, and it couldn’t be soon enough. He could very well have swung the outcome tonight. Poor performance” (RateTheRef.net). Lucky for the Spaniards they somehow pulled a win from the penalty kicks.