This week number three of the new section ‘Who is whistling today’. After Remco van der Ploeg and Ricardo Mulder, it is Remko Lochtenberg’s turn.
The start
After Lochtenberg and his wife took over a dental practice in Sassenheim, the born Amsterdammer ended up at football club Ter Leede. He enjoyed playing there for more than ten years in a ‘lower’ team where, like his fellow players, he had to take turns refereeing a home game. When the team fell apart fifteen years ago, he wanted to remain active in football and decided to become a referee at the KNVB. This did not mean that he turned his back on Ter Leede, because he coached youth teams there for a few years and joined the referee committee of which he is still a part.
Experience
After completing SO III training, he started playing Saturday football. His supervisors were so enthusiastic about him that he was soon refereeing matches for standard teams. Lochtenberg then quickly switched to Sunday football. His children were now playing in Ter Leede’s youth team and he not only wanted to witness this, but he was also a youth leader. As his children grew older, the start times of their matches increasingly moved to the afternoon, causing him to run out of time for his own matches.
It led to him switching to Sunday football, where he managed to reach group ZOSE. Because Sunday football in West II has declined rapidly in recent years, he returned to Saturday football four seasons ago.
In addition to field football, Lochtenberg refereed at a high level in the hall until the end of last season. He was on the national list and traveled across the country to referee his matches. This meant that, as usual, he did not return home until Friday evening, one of the reasons why he decided to stop whistling in the hall last summer. And if that wasn’t enough, he also found time to serve as rapporteur for two years.
Competencies
According to Lochtenberg, independence, imperturbability, fitness and knowledge of the rules are the basic requirements for a referee. In addition, he or she must be able to act quickly and deal with resistance. The KNVB is trying to remove this resistance with new guidelines in which only the captain is allowed to communicate with the referee. He is curious how this directive to take strict action against protests will turn out.
Arbitration style
Lochtenberg is known as a referee who exudes calm and, due to his imposing appearance (at a hair’s breadth of 2.00 metres), does not exactly invite anyone to argue. He can tolerate an initial reaction after a violation, but when necessary he does not hesitate to ‘draw a card.’ He wants to explain his decision briefly and concisely, but then he quickly returns to the order of the day. Where possible, he applies the advantage rule. He is satisfied when both teams thank him afterwards for his leadership.
Arbitration in the Netherlands
When asked who he would like to see whistle in professional football, he gives a surprising answer: ‘Boyd van Kommer, a young referee who dares to play, has great walking ability and is firmly on his feet,’ he is confident. For the rest he sees a lot of ‘one-size-fits-all’. In the past you had referees with character, but nowadays people are apparently afraid of making mistakes and everyone whistles strictly within the guidelines of the KNVB.’
Lochtenberg is a supporter of VAR, but believes that the influence of VAR goes too far. ‘Interventions are made in the event of minor issues. That was not the intention when introducing VAR, which would intervene when a referee makes a major mistake. It is also no longer clear to anyone who ultimately bears the final responsibility,” he says.
Effort
Lochtenberg is from the referees association but only comes there a few times a season. He attends the theme and rules evenings there, but does not train in groups. He maintains his fitness by endurance running and in the winter he goes to the gym.
He indicates that whistling in the hall is more strenuous than it may seem. ‘Although there are two referees, the game is much faster and constantly goes up and down. You really have to be in good shape for that,’ he explains. Whistling at national level also cost him a lot of travel time.
This also requires a lot from his family, but: ‘We have made good agreements and my wife and children allow me to have this wonderful hobby,’ he says.
Ambitions
Lochtenberg says he feels good at the level he is at. He indicates that he can handle the current level well – he mainly referees matches in the second division. Promotion in itself is not an objective for him, but if promotion to a higher group presented itself, he would not turn it down.
Unforgettable
He cannot directly name specific top matches or highlights. Matches where something is at stake, such as the final phase of the competition, play-offs, decider matches or derbies, are highlights for him. Occasionally he is assigned neutral assistants, which suits him extremely well.
Fortunately, he has not experienced many low points, although he was once confronted with a match in which players and/or supporters physically attacked each other and even the police had to intervene to restore order.
Finally
Lochtenberg finds whistling, as he says, a great hobby and would like to encourage and encourage everyone to become a referee. He would also like to get rid of club linesmen in standard football. According to him, this is too often a reason for conflict. Appointing two referees as in hockey would be a huge improvement.
Name: Remko Lochtenberg
Place of residence: Sassenheim
Age: 56 years
Private: Married; four children aged 19-27
Occupation: Dentist
Position: KNVB referee
Group: ZASE
Referee since: 2009
