Herbert Fandel

Herbert Fandel was a popular German football referee. He is a full-time pianist and director of the Bitburg-Prüm district music school and has been head of the cultural office in the Eifel district of Bitburg-Prüm since 2010. In the 2000/01, 2004/05 and 2006/07 seasons, as well as in the 2007/2008 season, Fandel was voted German Referee of the Season by the DFB's Committee of Impartial Referees.

In 2007, he was named vice world referee. He ended his active refereeing career in June 2009. "It was always clear to me that I would stop when I wanted to. It should be a moment when I can finish with only positive thoughts." He was Chairman of the DFB Referees' Commission, a member of the UEFA Referees' Commission and has been Chairman of the Belgian Referees' Commission (appointed by the Belgian Football Association KBFV) since 2022. Fandel has been a DFB referee for DJK Utscheid in the Rhineland Football Association since 1989.

He has refereed matches in the second Bundesliga since 1993 and matches in the first Bundesliga since 1996. "My applause was when the players accepted and respected me on the pitch

Fandel has been a FIFA referee since 1998. He took part in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and was also involved as a referee at the 2008 European Championships in Austria and Switzerland. He first refereed the preliminary round matches between Portugal and Turkey and the Netherlands and France. In the quarter-finals, Fandel refereed the match between Spain and Italy in Vienna on 22 June 2008. Other tournament participations and special matches were - 1998: European U16 Football Championship (Scotland) - 1999: Meridian Cup (South Africa) - 2000: European U21 Football Championship (Slovakia) - 2003: Kirin Cup (Japan) - 2004: DFB Cup final (Bayer Munich - Schalke 2:1) - 2005: Confederations Cup (Germany) - 2006: DFB Cup final (Bayern Munich - Frankfurt 1:0).
He has also officiated in numerous international matches, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup, including the 2006 final between Sevilla FC and FC Middlesbrough. On 23 May 2007, Fandel refereed the Champions League final between Liverpool FC and AC Milan.

He also passes on his international experience as a football referee in lectures - all very captivating and with many insights. Referee and pianist - they go together: "In both cases, I'm completely on my own. In the concert hall I have to stand up in front of an audience, in the football stadium I have to stand up in front of the fans. In both cases, things can quickly go wrong. It's a tightrope act. A small mistake can have serious consequences."
Fandel began his musical career by studying piano in Cologne, Vienna and Salzburg. He won the Mendelssohn Competition in Cologne in 1988, made radio recordings and gave concerts at home and abroad. As a pianist, he would have had a world career ahead of him, but did not give up football. He also talks about this - authentically.
He presents in German and English.