Full name | Raphaël Leon van Praag | ||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
(1885-09-12)12 September 1885 Amsterdam, Netherlands | ||
Died |
31 August 1934(1934-08-31) (aged 48) Antwerp, Belgium | ||
Domestic | |||
Years | League | Role | |
?–1934 | Belgian First Division | Referee | |
International | |||
Years | League | Role | |
1911–1934 | FIFA listed | Referee |
Raphaël Leon van Praag (12 September 1885 – 31 August 1934) was a Belgian football referee. He officiated 12 international matches between 1911 and 1934.
Early life
Raphaël van Praag was born in Amsterdam on 12 September 1885, as the son of Emanuel van Praag and Betsy van Dam van Praag.
Refereeing career
International career
At some point in his life, van Praag moved to Belgium where he became a referee, and after several years in the Belgian First Division, the Referees Committee of the Belgian FA nominated him as an international referee, thus becoming a member of FIFA. As such, he officiated a total of 12 international matches between 1911 and 1934.
In his international debut on 29 October 1911, the 26-year-old van Praag officiated a friendly match between Luxembourg and France in Luxembourg City, which ended in a 4–1 win to the latter. He had to wait nearly a decade for his next international appearance, which came at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, where he refereed two matches, both featuring Yugoslavia, which lost 7–0 to Czechoslovakia in the first-round on 28 August, and then defeated Egypt 4–2 in a first-round consolation match on 3 September. In the former meeting, he awarded a late penalty to the Czechs which was successfully converted by Jan Vaník to seal a 7–0 victory, which remains the biggest victory of the Czechoslovakia national team as well as the heaviest defeat of Yugoslavia. Also in September, he refereed a further two matches, both featuring an Antwerp XI, which lost to Egypt 4–2 and then defeated Yugoslavia 6–0.
Van Praag went on to officiate a further ten official international meetings between 1921 and 1934, including a 1927–1930 Central European Cup match between Hungary and Czechoslovakia in April 1928, which was won by the Magyar (2–0), and a 1929–32 Nordic Football Championship match between Sweden and Norway in Gothenburg on 1 July 1932, which ended in a 4–1 win to the latter. In between these two performances, he acted as a linesman in two matches at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. He made his last two international appearances in March 1934, when he oversaw two Iberian derbies in a two-legged 1934 World Cup qualifier, which was won by Spain 11–1 on aggregate.
Club career
On 30 October 1927, van Praag refereed the first leg of the final of the 1927 Mitropa Cup between Sparta Prague and Rapid Wien, which ended in a 6–2 win to the former.
Later life and death
Raphaël van Praag died in Antwerp on 31 August 1934, at the age of 48.
References
- ^ "Raphael Leon van Praag (1885 - 1934) - Genealogy". geni.com. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
- ^ "Raphaël van Praag, international football referee". eu-football.info. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
- ^ "Referee - Raphael van Praag - stats". worldreferee.com. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
- "La France bat le Luxembourg" [France beats Luxembourg]. gallica.bnf.fr (in French). L'Auto. 30 October 1911. p. 5. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
- ^ "Raphaël Van Praag". olympedia.org. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
- ^ "VII. Olympiad Antwerp 1920 Football Tournament - Match details". RSSSF. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
- "Czechoslovakia vs Yugoslavia, 28 August 1920". eu-football.info. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
- "Sparta Praha - Rapid Wien (6 - 2) 30/10/1927". bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
- "Spiele 1927/28" [Games 1927/28]. rapidarchiv.at (in German). Retrieved 29 January 2025.