Former international referee Alexis Ponnet turned 85. To mark the occasion, the Belgium FA posted this story.
Summer 2019. The double glass door of the federation building on the Avenue Houba de Strooper slides open. Across the green mat, an immaculate grey man with movie star allure but no frills in sky blue shirt under dark blue festoon strides into the clinical entrance hall of the famous Glass House. Light beige trousers and cognac-coloured shoes, his now thinning grey hair combed in a line to the left and on his nose rests fine-framed glasses. All class! Alexis -Alex to friends- Ponnet. Paul Newman in front of his undoubtedly numerous admirers. We are in full production for the anniversary book around the 125 years of the RBFA with the theme 'moving heritage'. And the 'éminence grise' among the Belgian referee corps cannot be missing. Like an accomplished mannequin, he poses in front of the rough grey canvas. Eyes on infinity. Looking back on a richly filled career with a satisfied smile.
However beautiful and quasi-flawless this career has been, yet it is often the not-so-pretty images that loom up when one contemplates the man's life. On hearing the name Ponnet, I - and with me many others - spontaneously think back to those images of Monday, 28 February 1983. During the extra time of a match between the military teams of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, Ponnet sent Saudi player Jamal Farhan off the pitch with a red card. A few minutes later, when Ponnet had sent off a second Saudi player, Farhan steps back onto the pitch and knocks out our Belgian number one. The footage is shown around the world. Farhan is suspended for life and Ponnet, for whom it was literally a blue Monday, spends a night in hospital.
The charming man from Brussels had a thing for red cards, even if they did not exist in his first match. His first match was one between two Brussels teams, he recalls. "Then I also sent three players to the dressing room," he told Brussels weekly Bruzz in 2010. "There were no cards back then and I just said 'dressing room!' or 'go take a shower!' Still, I didn't think it was anything for me. Fortunately, my father persuaded me and I got addicted to it anyway." What followed was a career with many high peaks and few deep valleys. Strict but fair. On the pitch, he did not tolerate players talking back. If he ever refereed a lesser match, he blamed it on fatigue. For a living, he ran his own print shop where he was often obliged to work through the night to get everything done on time. Yet this did not affect his richly filled career with no fewer than five European finals including the 1987 European Cup final between FC Porto and Jean-Marie Pfaff's Bayern Munich that was knocked out by Algerian Rabah Madjer's wonderful header. In those golden 80s, the Red Devils also had their first glory years and let this play precisely to the disadvantage of our top referees.
"In 1986, I had a chance to referee the World Cup final, but because the Belgians did so well, I was 'allowed' to go home. If your country makes it to the quarterfinals, you're out as a referee." In any case, it did not prevent him from holding a place within the top 20 internationally renowned referees. The current climate surrounding Belgian refereeing, and Belgian club football as a whole, undoubtedly makes him particularly sad. Fifteen years ago, as chairman of the Pro League ethics committee, he tried to give professional football a better image. Unsuccessfully. But no one will point the finger at him for that. Wishing you a very happy birthday, Alex Ponnet. Come again soon for another photo. I have a feeling that it will not be that different from the previous one, by the way.
Source: RBFA