A young Luxembourg football referee has received a prestigious accolade, making it onto FIFA’s list of referees eligible to officiate international fixtures.
26-year-old Loïc Thomas joins the two existing Luxembourg referees on the list, Jérémy Muller and Jasmin Sabotic, drawn up by football’s world governing body for 2026.
The head of Luxembourg’s association of referees, Alex Kruger, told both Thomas and Cédric Biever “in the summer that we were potential successors [to Ivo Torres, Luxemboug referee who announced he was stepping down] and that we would be tested over several weeks,” Thomas told the Luxemburger Wort.
“Between July and September, the games we officiated were analysed in detail by referee observers,” explained Thomas, who was ultimately selected as Luxembourg’s third candidate for the FIFA list.
Biever was proposed to FIFA as the fourth candidate, but the world governing body has opted for three referees from Luxembourg.
Loïc Thomas is looking forward to the road ahead © Photo credit: Christian Palmisano
“I am very proud. Over the past three to four years, I have been working specifically towards this. I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly,” said Thomas, who works full-time as a physiotherapist at the home care company Päiperléck.
“When the Luxemburger Wort recently reported on it, some of the people I look after forwarded the article to me or kept the newspaper for me,” he said, laughing.
Rapid rise
Thomas began his refereeing career more than ten years ago and initially combined his duties with playing as goalkeeper for FC Red Star Merl-Belair.
“At some point, I decided to concentrate fully on my refereeing career because I saw better prospects in that field. I haven’t regretted that decision to this day,” he said.
It’s no wonder, as Thomas has enjoyed a meteoric rise in recent years. In 2023, he refereed the final of the Coupe du Prince between Käerjeng and Racing.
Just two weeks later, he made his debut as a referee in the BGL Ligue. “That was a great season for me,” recalled the 26-year-old.
Loïc Thomas (second from right) refereed the 2023 Coupe du Prince final. He was supported by Dani Balsa (right), Armin Omerovic (left) and David Majstorski © Photo credit: Stéphane Guillaume
A year later, Thomas was linesman in the final of the Coupe de Luxembourg between Niederkorn and Hesperange. This was followed last summer by his first assignment as a fourth official in the Europa Conference League qualifiers.
Behind it all is hard work. Thomas, who has both Luxembourg and French citizenship, completes at least five training sessions a week and studies video analyses of games as part of his preparation.
In addition to the sessions with the national federation, he has been working with strength and conditioning coach Karim Consbruck for three years, who has already completed internships with top European teams such as AC Milan and Olympique Marseille.
Before the first international appearances of the year, Thomas will take part in a multi-day introductory course organised by UEFA for new FIFA referees in Cyprus.
In addition to practical sessions – including a FIFA fitness test – the programme in Cyprus will include theoretical training sessions, which are traditionally led by members of the UEFA Referees’ Committee.
Theis committee includes refereeing legends such as Roberto Rosetti and Björn Kuipers, who refereed the 2021 European Championship final.
“These are role models you used to admire on TV during big games and look up to,” he said. “You can learn an incredible amount from their experience. I’m looking forward to the exchange. These are people who have had impressive careers.”
Before the Cyprus trip, Thomas will also be exchanging ideas with former top Luxembourg referee Alain Hamer, who is responsible for FIFA referees and international relations at the FLF.
“We will prepare for the course together,” said Thomas, who is already looking forward to his upcoming international duties.
First, however, he has to pass the FIFA fitness test in Cyprus. “That’s the most important thing, because only then am I allowed to referee international matches,” said Thomas, who is nonetheless confident thanks to the hard work of recent years.
(This article was originally published by the Luxemburger Wort. Machine translated using AI, with editing and adaptation by John Monaghan.)