Leo Goldstein (Hebrew: לאו גולדשטיין) was an American-Israeli association football referee who survived the Holocaust thanks to his expertise in the rules of soccer.
He was deported to Auschwitz and was condemned to the gas chambers but was suddenly pulled aside by an SS guard who claimed to be a German international soccer player.
He was ordered to return to the barracks and serve as a referee in soccer games between soldiers and guards at Auschwitz and nearby camps.
[2] After the war he immigrated to Israel, but eventually settled in New York, where he worked as a taxi driver and a referee of soccer games in the Bowery.
[4] Goldstein was active as an assistant referee at FIFA World Cups,[1] officiating the Hungary-England[5] and Chile-Italy[6] matches in the group stages in 1962.