Abraham Klein is a Holocaust survivor who helped shape the world’s most popular game, becoming a living legend of Israeli sports. It’s a remarkable twist of history that, in the midst of some of the greatest World Cup matches of the 20th century, stood an Israeli referee. Klein was widely recognized in the 1970s and early 1980s as one of the best soccer referees in the world, if not the best. Many consider his officiating in the legendary 1970 Brazil vs. England and 1982 Brazil vs. Italy World Cup matches as contributing significantly to the mythology of those games. Now 91, Klein lives in Haifa with his wife, Bracha. He remains as sharp and insightful as he was when managing the egos and talent of soccer giants such as Pelé, Bobby Moore, Johan Cruyff, Socrates, Eusebio, Bobby Charlton, Zico and Paolo Rossi.
Born in Romania in 1934, Klein survived the Holocaust and, at age 13, was sent on a train to the Netherlands with 500 other Jewish children. A few years later, he made aliyah. It was by a twist of fate that he found his calling in refereeing. “My parents sent me to buy trousers from a tailor named Jonas,” Klein recalls. “He was about to go referee an amateur game and told me to come along. He’d make the pants after the game.” Jonas was injured during that match and asked the young Klein to take over, an experience that changed his life forever. Klein officiated his first Israeli league match in 1958. In 1965, at the age of 30, he refereed his first international match when Israel hosted the Netherlands. That same year, he was assigned to a 1966 World Cup qualifier between Italy and Poland in Rome. In an era with no television replays or YouTube, Klein sought to prepare himself thoroughly. Before the Italy-Poland match, he flew to Rome to watch a Serie A game in person. “I flew to Rome, watched a match at the Stadio Olimpico, studied the players and fans, and flew back that night,” he tells JNS. “A week later, as we were about to walk onto the pitch, my linesmen tried to brief me. I told them not to worry: ’I was there last week.'” Italy won that match 6-1, with three of their goals resulting from the advantage rule Klein applied, an approach not commonly used at the time. The referees’ committee was impressed.
First World Cup: Mexico, 1970
Klein’s first major international tournament came at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. He officiated the Spain-Brazil group match and the bronze medal game between Japan and Mexico. Cool under pressure in front of 105,000 fans, he was primed for his first World Cup, also in Mexico. At the time, Israel was part of the Asian Football Confederation, and Klein was the only referee selected from that group, just like Menachem Ashkenazi had been for the 1966 tournament. They remain the only two Israeli referees to ever officiate at a World Cup. To cope with Mexico City’s altitude, Klein trained rigorously. “I was professional before most referees were,” he says. “I focused on fitness, nutrition, and learning about the players, however I could.” Klein was appointed to the marquee Brazil–England group stage match, featuring the past three World Cup winners and Pelé in his final tournament. Brazil edged it 1-0 with a goal by Jairzinho in what became a legendary match. He was due to officiate the Mexico–Italy quarter-final but was sidelined by Montezuma’s Revenge and couldn’t continue. Klein missed the 1974 World Cup in West Germany due to security concerns following the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre. “FIFA feared for my safety and didn’t want to take the risk,” he explains. Had he participated, he would have been the only referee in history to work four World Cups. Klein returned for the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, again officiating the bronze medal match.
Second World Cup: Argentina, 1978
Klein returned to the World Cup stage in 1978 in Argentina, a tournament mired in controversy due to the ruling military junta’s influence. Officials of unquestionable integrity, like Klein, posed a risk to the regime’s interests. That concern materialized when Klein officiated the first-round match between Argentina and Italy, which Italy won. “It was a very tough match,” he recalls. “The crowd was wild, the energy intense.” He later oversaw Austria’s famous win over West Germany in the second round. It’s widely rumored that he was originally slated to referee the final between Argentina and the Netherlands, but the hosts allegedly intervened. Instead, he was assigned the third-place match between Italy and Brazil, a rivalry that would become even more iconic four years later.
Third World Cup: Spain,1982
By 1982, in Spain, Klein had become only the sixth referee in history to officiate at three World Cups. But politics once again intruded. Just a week before the tournament began, the Lebanon War broke out, and Klein’s son, Amit, was deployed. “I told the referee’s committee that I couldn’t focus. My body was in Madrid, but my heart was in Lebanon,” he says. He served as a linesman for the Brazil-New Zealand and Italy-Peru matches until receiving word that his son was safe. “I ran to the chairman’s room in tears to share the news,” he says. Hoping to officiate the Argentina-Brazil clash, Klein was instead assigned the Brazil-Italy match, one of the greatest in World Cup history. “I told my assistants, ‘No one’s going to remember us.’ And then the match turned out to be unforgettable.” Books have been written about that game, which even has its own Wikipedia entry. Klein was right there in the center, his final World Cup as a referee. He was appointed as a linesman for the final and was to referee a replay, had the match ended in a draw. Italy’s win meant his legendary run at the top was over, but his legacy endured. “I still have people talk to me about those matches,” he says. “A man from Portugal once asked me to sign his ticket from the Italy-Brazil game and send it back. I told him, ‘I’ll be in Portugal soon, let’s do it in person.’”
Life after refereeing
FIFA has honored Klein repeatedly since his retirement. He was named an Honorary Ambassador of the FIFA Museum and donated personal artifacts from the Italy-Brazil match, including the ball, his whistle, cards and his watch, which still ticks. He has also been invited as a guest to multiple World Cups. “FIFA President Gianni Infantino invited my wife and I to Qatar, which was a great honor,” Klein says. Infantino, a 12-year-old Italian fan during the 1982 Brazil–Italy match, counts it as a seminal moment in his life. Meeting Klein brought him back to that magical day. Now a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Klein keeps fit with yoga, tennis and swimming. A sports fanatic, he has witnessed some of history’s most iconic moments, including meeting Dick Fosbury, the American high jumper who won an Olympic gold medal in 1968 and pioneered a revolutionary technique known as the Fosbury Flop. He still watches a lot of football and keeps an eye on the referees. “VAR has changed the game. We need it, but there’s too much reliance on it,” he observes. Klein’s refereeing career brought pride to Israel and left a lasting impact on world football. “My legacy is one of professionalism, integrity, and passion. I tried to uphold fair play, no matter the pressure. My aim was to be invisible when I could; decisive when I had to be.” With no Israeli referees currently active in the World Cup, Klein’s remarkable career grows only more significant and, sadly, more likely to be forgotten. So, how would he like to be remembered? “As someone who deeply loved football and served it with honor,” he says. “Not just as a referee making big decisions, but as a person who respected the sport, the players and the fans. I stood by my principles, even under pressure, and tried to make the game fairer and more beautiful.”
