Peter Willems faces the difficult task of raising the level of arbitration in our country. The 49-year-old Limburger is appointed as director, Herbert Fandel resigns. At the end of the season they also part ways with Bertrand Layec.
Too many (and too expensive) bosses and poor performance from the referees. That is why the Football Association intervenes and stops cooperation with Herbert Fandel, chairman of the Referee Department. At the end of the season they also part ways with referee boss Bertrand Layec.
As director, Peter Willems, ex-CEO of OH Leuven, will have the difficult task of further professionalizing the PRD and further raising the level of arbitration in our country. He is assisted in this by various experts. Stephanie Forde remains responsible for the operational aspect of Belgian arbitration, and Frank De Bleeckere for the guidance and advancement of young referees. Kevin Blom and Christophe Dierick are responsible for the VAR. Bertrand Layec remains responsible for the technical support of the referees, but his contract expires in June and he will therefore leave the KBVB.
The news does not come as a surprise at all, because the 58-year-old Frenchman has been under fire for some time. For example, Layec himself chose the three nominees for the ‘Referee of the Year’ award, even though data showed, for example, that none of the referees he nominated were among the best performing refs in the rankings in terms of key decisions.
UEFA
“After a number of eventful months, CEO Piet Vandendriessche is counting on Peter Willems to restore calm to the PRD,” said a press release from the football association. “Willems is responsible for organizing the daily operations. For example, he will oversee the process of appointing the referee. These designations will be decided as a team, and based on the available data. These data allow the quality of referees and assistant referees in professional football to be monitored objectively. Willems will also roll out and further develop the strategic plan for professional arbitration – which was launched at the start of the season. He is also considering the structure and organization of the PRD for the coming season.”
Willems can provide the necessary letters of nobility. He studied commercial engineering at KU Leuven and subsequently gained experience in various positions at Reebok, Deloitte & Touche, the global sports agency Octagon and UEFA, where he was responsible for marketing, merchandising, branding and sponsorship research. “I was on the payroll at Octagon, but I worked for Mastercard. That is one of the brands Octagon works with. Because Mastercard is a sponsor of the Champions League and I had almost daily contact with UEFA for six years, I ended up at the head office in Nyon in 2005,” Willems said in an earlier interview with Het Belang van Limburg. At the beginning of 2019, he returned to Belgium after fourteen years to become CEO at OH Leuven, where he paid the price for the poor results on September 5.
Willems currently lives in Oud-Heverlee but grew up in Kiewit. At the age of seven he moved with his parents to Sint-Truiden and went to Leuven for his higher studies.
