In April 2010, Herbert Fandel was elected head of the German Football Association’s Referee Commission at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the DFB. In this position he is responsible for referees and assistant referees in the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, but the 51-year-old has decided that he will step down at the end of the season. He has explained his reasons to DFB.de.
DFB.de: Mr Fandel, you have decided to step down as head of Bundesliga referees at the end of this season. How have you arrived at this decision?
Herbert Fandel: I have been thinking long and hard about this for some time now, but personal reasons also play a decisive role in this choice. I have been in this job for six years, and that is a long time with this sort of responsibility. In my opinion, we have made important progress in the professionalisation of German refereeing in recent years. I also hope that my decision can lead to new impetus in this process.
DFB.de: Has this been a difficult decision for you?
Fandel: I enjoy working with the referees and our management team, and the relationship with full-time and voluntary colleagues at the Commission, the DFB and the League is and always was first class. All of this does not make such a decision any easier, but I need to take a step back from day-to-day management in the summer. So it was important to me that I personally inform the necessary people in the DFB committee and in the DFL of the reasons for my decision.
DFB.de: Does this step mean that you are completely moving away from refereeing?
Fandel: To begin with I will still be here throughout the summer until a new head of the Referee Commission is chosen at the DFB’s General Meeting in November. I will of course carry out this job with great energy until then. I will also remain a member of UEFA’s Referees Committee. I basically imagine that I will take on some role within the refereeing department at the DFB.
DFB.de: Do you already have a potential successor in mind?
Fandel: I am deliberately announcing my decision early, irrespective of current refereeing debates or planning during the current Bundesliga season, so that this issue can be discussed by all relevant parties in their own time. I am sure that we will find a suitable candidate for this position.
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In April 2010, Herbert Fandel was elected head of the German Football Association’s Referee Commission at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the DFB. In this position he is responsible for referees and assistant referees in the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, but the 51-year-old has decided that he will step down at the end of the season. He has explained his reasons to DFB.de.
DFB.de: Mr Fandel, you have decided to step down as head of Bundesliga referees at the end of this season. How have you arrived at this decision?
Herbert Fandel: I have been thinking long and hard about this for some time now, but personal reasons also play a decisive role in this choice. I have been in this job for six years, and that is a long time with this sort of responsibility. In my opinion, we have made important progress in the professionalisation of German refereeing in recent years. I also hope that my decision can lead to new impetus in this process.
DFB.de: Has this been a difficult decision for you?
Fandel: I enjoy working with the referees and our management team, and the relationship with full-time and voluntary colleagues at the Commission, the DFB and the League is and always was first class. All of this does not make such a decision any easier, but I need to take a step back from day-to-day management in the summer. So it was important to me that I personally inform the necessary people in the DFB committee and in the DFL of the reasons for my decision.
DFB.de: Does this step mean that you are completely moving away from refereeing?
Fandel: To begin with I will still be here throughout the summer until a new head of the Referee Commission is chosen at the DFB’s General Meeting in November. I will of course carry out this job with great energy until then. I will also remain a member of UEFA’s Referees Committee. I basically imagine that I will take on some role within the refereeing department at the DFB.
DFB.de: Do you already have a potential successor in mind?
Fandel: I am deliberately announcing my decision early, irrespective of current refereeing debates or planning during the current Bundesliga season, so that this issue can be discussed by all relevant parties in their own time. I am sure that we will find a suitable candidate for this position.
