Frank Andas (Moen’s AR2) retires with immediate effect after being removed from Team Moen. This has led to many reactions from former top-level referees in Norway. Moen himself says that "the team needed a new impulse to get better".
The Norwegian Head of Refereeing, Terje Hauge, praises Frank Andas, but is still the man behind the decision to remove him from Team Moen. “It is very harsh to say that Frank was sacrificed. Andas is a wonderful person, has been a part of the team for five years and has done an excellent job. Team Moen had good results on the highest European level, but there is now time for a change. The performance over time and the feedback we received suggested that we have to adjust the team. Therefore, Frank Andas has been removed from Team Moen. In a performance-based group, one has to take difficult decisions sometimes. At this time, we need to bring a new impulse into the team”, this is how Hauge explains the decision of replacing Frank Andas with Magnus Lundberg. He admits that it was random who was sacrificed to get new impulses. “It could as well have been the other AR, Kim Haglund. Why it went this way, is an internal case. We have had a thorough review process last fall and the decision was to replace Andas. I have to emphasize that Frank not was discontinued as a FIFA AR. We would happily have him continue in the Norwegian top level and as a FIFA AR, but, once he decided to retire, we are happy that he now joins the Norwegian FA as an AR coach and can transfer his competence to upcoming FIFA ARs”, said Hauge.
Source: Oppland Arbeiderblad
