:Theo van Zwieteren
{{Short description|Belgian football referee (1887–1962)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Theo van Zwieteren
| image =
| full_name = Theodorus van Zwieteren
| birth_date = {{birth date|1887|01|06|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Rotterdam, Netherlands
| death_date = {{death date and age|1962|12|11|1887|01|05|df=y}}
| death_place = Voorburg, Netherlands
| height =
| position = Referee
| module = {{Infobox football official
| embed = yes
| name = Theo van Zwieteren
| image =
| years1 = 1922–1924
| league1 = Dutch First Division
| role1 = Referee
| internationalyears1 = 1923–25
| confederation1 = FIFA listed
| internationalrole1 = Referee
}}}}
Theodorus van Zwieteren (6 January 1887 – 11 December 1962) was a Dutch football referee who officiated three international matches between 1923 and 1925. He was also a linesman at the 1924 Summer Olympics.
Refereeing career
In 1922, the 33-year-old van Zwieteren became a referee in the Dutch First Division, where he refereed a total of six Ajax matches, which ended in three losses and three draws.{{cite web |url=https://www.afc-ajax.info/en/referee/Th-van-Zwieteren#tab=all_games |title=Th. van Zwieteren Referee for Ajax |website=www.afc-ajax.info |access-date=10 February 2025 }} The following year, the Referees Committee of the Dutch FA nominated him as an international referee, thus becoming a member of FIFA, officiating a total of three international matches between 1923 and 1925.{{cite web |url=https://eu-football.info/_referee.php?id=2299 |title=Theo van Zwieteren, international football referee |website=eu-football.info |access-date=10 February 2025 }}{{cite web |url=https://worldreferee.com/referee/theo_van_zwieteren |title=Theo van Zwieteren football referee from Netherlands |website=worldreferee.com |access-date=10 February 2025 }}
In his international debut on 4 November 1923, van Zwieteren officiated a friendly match between Germany and Norway in Hamburg, which ended in a 1–0 win to the former. At the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, he worked as a linesman in one match, the quarter-finals between France and the eventual champions Uruguay.{{cite web |url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/5004607 |title=Theo van Zwieteren |website=www.olympedia.org |access-date=10 February 2025 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tableso/ol1924f-det.html#det |title=VIII. Olympiad Paris 1924 Football Tournament - Match details |publisher=RSSSF |date=6 February 2025 |access-date=10 February 2025 }} The following year, in May, he refereed another France match, this time a friendly against England, losing again (2–3),{{cite web |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k46849906/f4.item.r=vanzwieteren.zoom |title=France-Angleterre |trans-title=France-England |language=fr |website=gallica.bnf.fr |publisher=L'Auto |page=4 |date=20 May 1925 |access-date=11 February 2025 }} and also in May, he oversaw a match between Uruguay's Club Nacional and Belgium, which ended in a 2–1 win to the latter.{{cite web |url=https://atilio.uy/partido:916 |title=Nacional v Selección de Bélgica (Bel) |language=es |website=atilio.uy |access-date=10 February 2025 }}
Personal and death
Theo van Zwieteren was born on 6 January 1887 to Theodorus Johannes van Zwieteren and Margaretha Apolina de Koster. He was the eldest of nine siblings. One of his brothers was Willy van Zwieteren,{{cn|date=April 2025}} who played for Sparta Rotterdam and for the Netherlands national football team.{{cite web|title=Willy van Zwieteren|work=National Football Teams|access-date=7 March 2025|url=https://www.national-football-teams.com/player/72339/Willy_Van_Zwieteren.html }} Theo van Zwieren's first cousin once removed,{{cn|date=April 2025}} Teddy Scholten, won the Eurovision Song Contest 1959.{{cite web|title=Profile|publisher=Diggiloo.net|access-date=7 March 2025|url=http://diggiloo.net/?info.1959nl}}
Theo van Zwieteren played field tennis and was a lifelong member of Sparta Rotterdam. He died in Voorburg on 11 December 1962, at the age of 75.{{cite web |url=https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=ddd:011204473:mpeg21:p013|title=Theo v. Zwieteren|trans-title=Theo van Zwieteren|language=nl |via=Delpher |page=13 |newspaper=De Telegraaf |date=20 April 1962 |access-date=11 February 2025|number=23389|volume=65}}
References
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Category:20th-century Dutch sportsmen