Paul Allaerts is a Belgian football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 referee. Outside of refereeing, Allaerts works as an IT manager.

Allaerts began refereeing in 1985, and took charge of his first Belgian First Division game in 1996. He is one of only two Belgian UEFA-certified referees, along with Frank De Bleeckere

Frank De Bleeckere

Frank De Bleeckere is a Belgian football referee. He has been a referee since 1984, and an international official since 1998...

, meaning that he is able to referee matches in the UEFA Champions League

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

, UEFA Cup

UEFA Cup

The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

 and UEFA European Championships

UEFA European Football Championship

The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...

. Allaerts was also voted Belgian Referee of the Year in 2004-05 and 2005-06. He was named the referee for the first Group B game of the UEFA Cup 2008–09

UEFA Cup 2008–09

The UEFA Cup 2008–09 was the 38th edition of the UEFA Cup football tournament. The final was played at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, home ground of Fenerbahçe, in Istanbul, Turkey, on 20 May 2009. This season was the final one to use the UEFA Cup format; starting in 2009, the event is known as the...

 season between Hertha Berlin and Benfica in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, on October 23, 2008 along with Danny Huens and Joel De Bruyn as his linesmans, and Jean-Baptist Bultynck as the 4th referee.

In 2008-2009, he refereed 18 games in the Belgian First Division. In total he showed 79 yellow and 4 red cards and gave 8 penalties. During the season 2008-2009, he refereed 4 times a game between R.S.C. Anderlecht

R.S.C. Anderlecht

Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht, usually known as Anderlecht or RSCA , is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht in the Brussels Capital Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian Pro League and is the most successful Belgian football team in European competitions as well as in the...

 and Standard Liège

Standard Liège

Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (Dutch: Standard Luik [], German: Standard Lüttich , is a Belgian football club from the city of Liège....

: 1 time for the Belgian Supercup

Belgian Supercup

The Belgian Supercup is a Belgian club competition played on a single match at the league champion venue since 2004 and formerly at the Stade Roi Baudouin, between the winner of the last Belgian Pro League and that of the last Belgian Cup. If both teams are the same, the opponent is declared to...

, 2 times in the first division and 1 duel of the test games (appointing the Belgian Champion). Furthermore, in 2008-2009 he refereed one game in the Champions league

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 between FC Basel

FC Basel

Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel is a Swiss football club based in Basel. They are one of the most successful clubs in Swiss football, having won the Swiss Super League 14 times, the third most for any Swiss club. They were most successful in the late 1960s and 1970s, winning the...

 and Sporting Clube de Portugal.