Herbert Fandel is an important name in the refereeing world due to his biography as a top European referee. Between 1996 and 2009, he refereed 247 Bundesliga matches, went to the Olympic Games, at Euro 2008 and led two major European finals, including the Champions league final AC Milan-Liverpool in 2007. He is also a talented musician, being called “the pianist” in football. Fandel has been the new referee boss in Belgium since September 2022.
- How did the first contact with Belgium FA happen? Did your former colleague Frank De Bleeckere ask you?
- I know Frank from the past, when we were active on the international stage at the same time, but Peter Bossaert (CEO) contacted me. Over the years I had many offers from other countries - the US, Greece, Czech Republic - but I live in a corner of Germany close to the border with Belgium and Luxembourg. I grew up in this region and did not want to change my culture to live in America. But here I can arrive by car in 2 hours and 20 minutes, and this played a role. And I know Belgian football.
- Will you always be here during the week?
- That is not necessary. But I'll be there when I'm needed. I don't live on the moon, but I want to be available for the refs. In my first two weeks, I mainly wanted to get to know the internal structures and the quality of the refs.
- What is your first impression and how do you see your own role?
- I am positively surprised. My predecessor (David Elleray) already did a lot to professionalise the Belgian refereeing. I see a good mix of young and very experienced refs, and the management has strong personalities, such as Bertrand Layec, Stephanie Forde, and Frank De Bleeckere, so young refs can look up to them. I want to keep the overview with my experience and competence, saying 'Stop' when things are going in the wrong direction and support the referees going in the right direction.
- De Bleeckere was the last Belgian top referee at a major World Cup, already 12 years ago in South Africa. Does the association hope and is it your goal that a Belgian top referee will go to the World Cup in 2026?
- That depends on the quality of the referees. Belgian referees are more present in UEFA again. We have one who has already been used in the Champions League (Lawrence Visser) and one who referees in the Europa League (Erik Lambrechts).
- You were still Visser's UEFA observer when he refereed Real-Tiraspol in the UCL last season. Can he progress to the very highest UEFA elite group?
- He has the potential; I think he has a strong personality. But I also see others. I don't want to speak too personally, because I would rather say that to the referees themselves than in the media.
- We noticed in the Belgian top division that VAR must often intervene to correct clear errors. Doesn't that indicate a lower quality of the referees?
- No, but the best VAR is the referee, who decides himself on the field. In the most optimal scenario, the video referee intervenes as little as possible. But the VAR has also proven its right enough to take out important mistakes that the referee couldn't see from his position and put them on the table: 'Look at this again'.
- There is now more discussion about VAR decisions than the referees.
- That's because people think the VAR can never make a mistake. That's nonsense. There is also a person in front of that TV screen. It is no different in Belgium than in Germany, France, or Italy. The video evidence helps to avoid errors but will never be error-free.
- Would you have liked to work with VAR in the past?
- This is a bold question. I have to admit that I might have had a hard time with it at first. But I have also noticed during my service in Germany how the outside pressure on referees has increased. Now it is almost inhumanly large, also due to social media. We can't leave the referees alone in that. The VAR is a tool. I understand the emotions of a club's fans, but they don't always think about the influence on the referees. The football world must support its referees, or it will damage itself.
- In the past, a referee was the big boss on the field…
- But nobody wants that one big boss anymore, right? The management profile has changed completely over the last 10 years. In football, a referee is also at eye-level with the players, but he has to take the lead. And you build that personality. You can't expect that from a 24-year-old. A 37–38-year-old referee has learned and matured so much more. But I want young referees in professional football as soon as possible so that they can build their personality.
- You refereed big finals as a top referee. How did you deal with the pressure?
- I trusted myself, used my personality and experience. I know I got those matches because of my ability. I have always separated refereeing from my work in the music world (as concert pianist and later as director of a music school), but music has developed my personality. Because I gave many concerts, I had no fear to referee a big game in front of a large audience or of losing control.
- How was your musical talent viewed in the football world?
- They called me “the pianist”. If I refereed in Liverpool, the newspaper would say “The German pianist is coming”. I don't know if that was meant respectfully, but maybe they would have thought I should have stayed in the music. (laughs)
- Unfortunately, referees are often remembered for their mistakes. Is there a match where you failed?
- That's human. I can name many scenes or matches where I was unlucky. But one match at the beginning of my career will always stick with me: I gave four red cards to the same team. All four red cards were justified, but I refereed very strictly and dominantly, missing the football understanding to give players space. With five more years of experience, I would have solved that differently, communicated more with players to avoid those collisions. The media praised me then, but for myself it felt like I had failed as a referee. I would not have served football, because nobody wants to see a game with a team that sees four red cards.
- In 2007, you were attacked by a Danish fan in a Euro qualifying match between Sweden and Denmark after you had awarded a penalty kick to Sweden in the final minutes. What impact did that have on you?
- I was not far from quitting then. My first thought was to stop. My second thought was no, not now. It was a tough moment, but I noticed that my decision to stop the game was right. For example, I gave a signal to football and the referees that they should not drag the authority of a referee through the mud. I will not forget the reaction of the Danish coach Morten Olsen after the match. He came into my cabin, sat there, and cried because he was ashamed that this had happened in his country. I found it incredibly respectful that such a strong personality as Olsen encouraged me in one of my toughest moments.
- After you ended your referee career, you continued in the German referees committee until 2018. A top German referee was talking at that time about bad management and harassment by the leadership...
- I am not a person who bullies other people. But, if you have to indicate a direction and have more than 100 strong personalities under your leadership, where everyone thinks of themselves, you can never please everyone. That's like a coach who never has all the players behind him 100%, because he has to say: 'You play, and you don't. Furthermore, I do not look back, but I look forward. I am now looking forward to my time in Belgium.
Source: DeMorgen