In 1994, Blankenstein was selected to referee the 1994 UEFA Champions League Final between AC Milan and FC Barcelona, only to be replaced by Englishman Philip Don a few days before the match. The contents of the official decision were never made public, but it was said that it was because Johan Cruijff and Ronald Koeman, both FC Barcelona players, were from the Netherlands. Blankenstein himself later stated it had been because of him being openly homosexual.