Influence of players' vocalisations on soccer referees' decisions

Abstract

The influence of a potentially fouled player's vocalisations on the referee's decisions was investigated. Experienced soccer referees watched video clips of real-match situations that were presented either without sound or with sound where a player's vocalisations were clearly audible and made judgements regarding fouls, direction of play and personal penalties. The results revealed that players’ vocalisations had no impact on the foul decisions of the referees. However, once a referee made a foul decision, the player's vocalisations led to an increased number of personal penalties (increase in yellow cards) for the foul-causing player. In addition to crowd noise, a player's vocalisations during a foul are used as a proximal cue in the referee's decision-making process.     

Inconsistency of decision-making,the Achilles heel of referees

This study assessed whether decisions made by six qualified referees were consistent when watching the live 2016 televised Champions League Final. Referees were paired off into three separate rooms. Two referees watched the game with no supporters present. Two watched the game surrounded by Real Madrid supporters, and the remaining two watched the game surrounded by Athletic Madrid supporters. Referees were asked to decide whether each decision made by the on-field referee was either correct or incorrect. Results identified two types of refereeing inconsistency. The first type was a systematic tendency of the supporting crowds (both rooms) to influence the adjudicating referees to make fewer incorrect (disagree with the on-field referee) decisions (8 and 5) than referees in the “no supporters” room (19) (χ² = 11.22 [df = 2], P = 0.004). The second type of inconsistency was the home advantage “bias”, where the surrounding crowd influenced the adjudicating referees to favour their team, by disagreeing with the decision made by the on-field referee (χ² = 6.0 [df = 2], P = 0.0498). One explanation for these inconsistencies is that referees adopt a coping strategy of “avoidance”, i.e., when faced with difficult decisions, referees simply avoid making unpopular decisions by waving “play on”.     

External Activity Demands Differ Between Referees and Players During a Sub-Elite,Men’s Basketball Match

ABSTRACT

Match activity demands of basketball players have been well reported but little exists in terms of quantifying the demands encountered by referees during match-play. Potential differences between referees and players may identify different fitness capacities and subsequent need for different training regimes. Purpose: The aims of this brief report were to: 1) document the activity demands of sub-elite basketball referees during a match; and 2) compare referee and player match activity demands. Method: Three referees and six players participating in the same sub-elite, basketball match were monitored for external activity (PlayerLoad?, PL) via microsensor technology. The proportion of each quarter and entire match time spent in pre-set PL bands was also examined to develop PL profiles. Differences in activity demands between referees and players were calculated using effect size (ES) analyses (± 95% confidence intervals). Results: Referees experienced an absolute PL of 310 ± 28 arbitrary units (4.2 ± 0.4 AU.min^?1) during the match which was ~40% lower than that of the players (ES = 1.14; ?0.45, 2.48). Referees exhibited a match PL profile dominated by the lowest PL band (~91%) with the players’ PL profile shifted slightly towards higher bands. Conclusion: Sub-elite basketball referees experienced activity demands substantially lower than that of players during the same match. Limited movement patterns due to recommended court positioning may have contributed to the lower PL of referees. Differences in PL between referees and players highlight a need to develop specific training regimes to focus on key fitness capacities for each match role.     

Referee bias contributes to home advantage in English Premiership football

Abstract

Officiating bias is thought to contribute to home advantage. Recent research has shown that sports with subjective officiating tend to experience greater home advantage and that referees' decisions can be influenced by crowd noise, but little work has been done to examine whether individual referees vary in their home bias or whether biased decisions contribute to overall home advantage. We develop an ordinal regression model to determine whether various measures of home advantage are affected by the official for the match and by crowd size while controlling for team ability. We examine 5244 English Premier League (EPL) match results involving 50 referees and find that home bias differs between referees. Individual referees give significantly different levels of home advantage, measured as goal differential between the home and away teams, although the significance of this result depends on one referee with a particularly high home advantage (an outlier). Referees vary significantly and robustly in their yellow card and penalty differentials even excluding the outlier. These results confirm that referees are responsible for some of the observed home advantage in the EPL and suggest that home advantage is dependent on the subjective decisions of referees that vary between individuals. We hypothesize that individual referees respond differently to factors such as crowd noise and suggest further research looking at referees' psychological and behavioural responses to biased crowds.     

Activity profile and physical demands of football referees and assistant referees in international games

Abstract

Time-motion analyses and physiological measurements were performed to investigate the physiological demands of football referees (n = 15) and assistant referees (n = 15) in international games and to examine whether high-intensity running (HIR) correlates to the referees' ability to keep up with play. Total distance covered (10.27 ± 0.90 vs. 6.76 ± 0.83 km) and HIR (1.92 ± 0.58 vs. 0.97 ± 0.22 km) was higher (P < 0.05) for referees than assistant referees, while sprinting distance was not different. Referees covered 0.89 ± 0.37 km by backwards running and assistant referees covered 1.54 ± 0.66 km by sideways running. Mean heart rate was higher (P < 0.05) for referees than assistant referees (150 ± 3 vs. 123 ± 3 b.p.m.), whereas blood lactate was not different. Backwards/sideways running decreased (P < 0.05) from the first to the last 15-min period for referees (49%) and assistant referees (42%), whereas HIR was unaltered. HIR was inversely correlated with the five highest distances from infringements in both halves (r = ?0.60 and ?0.58, P < 0.05). In conclusion, international match officials carry out an important amount of HIR throughout games, while low-intensity and unorthodox running activities are reduced during games. Referees performing the most high-intensity work are better to keep up with play. The match activities differ significantly between referees and assistant referees, which should be considered in training and testing procedures.     

Psychological and Organizational Factors Related to Burnout in Athletic Trainers

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship of five selected psychological and organizational variables to burnout in athletic trainers. Trainers (n = 332) from the Western United States completed self-report measures of burnout, role conflict, role ambiguity, locus of control and demographic variables. Regression, and follow-up canonical correlation analyses, indicated that role conflict, role ambiguity, locus of control, number of hours in direct contact with the athletes, and number of athletes in the athletic trainer's direct care were significantly related to total burnout, frequency and intensity of burnout, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment subscales. Role conflict explained the most variance on all burnout scores except personal accomplishment, which was best explained by role ambiguity. Overall, however, absolute levels of burnout were found to be low. Theoretical implications of this study include identifying variables which could be included in other studies. Practical implications include how to reduce role conflict and role ambiguity, and increase control over decision making.     

Relative age effect and soccer refereeing: A ‘Strategic Adaptation’ of relatively younger children?

Abstract

Previous research suggested that the relative age effect (RAE) has a psychological influence on children and their decision to engage in a particular sport. Relatively younger children seem to have lower self-esteem. Indeed, because of the disadvantages of being younger, it is assumed that these players experience more situations of failure and inferiority. Because of these negative performance cues, it is likely that these young players feel less competent, which eventually leads to a higher dropout rate. These children can also decide to participate in sports in which physical attributes are less important. This shift from one sport to another can be interpreted as a ‘strategic adaptation’. The purpose of this study was thus to investigate whether refereeing could be another form of ‘strategic adaptation’. If a child chooses a specific sport but then does not feel competent enough to be a player, refereeing might be an alternate path followed to stay in the environment of a sport they like. Given the minimal age limits for refereeing, two hypotheses were formulated: (1) ‘reversed’ RAE would be observed in district referees younger than 18 years old and (2) no RAE would be observed in district referees older than 18 years old, regional referees and national referees. The birthdates of all official male soccer referees (n=13,952) were collected from the federation database. Results show that the distribution of all district referees was significantly unbalanced (χ²=18.73, df=3, P<0.001) with an over-representation of individuals who were born in the second half of the competitive year. As expected, this imbalance was exclusively located in district referees of 18 years old and less (χ²=8.03, df=3, P<0.05), while the distribution was uniform for adults (χ²=5.17, df=3, P<0.16). Concerning regional referees (χ²=2.09, df=3, P<0.554) and national referees (χ²=3.75, df=3, P<0.290), the results also provide support for our initial hypothesis as uniform distributions were found for both groups. This study brings to light new elements in the potential relationship between relative age and refereeing. Qualitative and/or longitudinal research is needed to confirm our quantitative data.     

The use of 2D and 3D information in a perceptual-cognitive judgement task

Abstract

We examined whether the use of three-dimensional (3D) simulations in an off-field offside decision-making task is beneficial compared to the more widely available two-dimensional (2D) simulations. Thirty-three assistant referees, who were all involved in professional football, participated in the experiment. They assessed 40 offside situations in both 2D and 3D formats using a counterbalanced design. A distinction was made between offside situations near (i.e., 15 m) and far (i.e., 30 m) from the touchline. Subsequently, a frame recognition task was performed in which assistant referees were asked to indicate which of the five pictures represented the previous video scene. A higher response accuracy score was observed under 3D (80.0%) compared to 2D (75.0%) conditions, in particular for the situations near the touchline (3D: 81.8%; 2D: 72.7%). No differences were reported between 2D and 3D in the frame recognition task. Findings suggest that in highly dynamic and complex situations, the visual system can benefit from the availability of 3D information, especially for relatively fine, metric position judgements. In the memory task, in which a mental abstraction had to be made from a dynamic situation to a static snapshot, 3D stereo disparities do not add anything over and beyond 2D simulations. The specific task demands should be taken into account when considering the most appropriate format for testing and training.     

Variability and Sampling Inspection in the NOCSAE Standards for Football Helmets

Abstract

Because of increasing numbers of serious sports-related injuries at all levels of participation, the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) was formed. Among their activities aimed at improving the safety of sports participation was the development of standards for impact resistance in both new and refinished football helmets. These standards include not only recommendations as to safe levels of resistance to impact but recommendations as to the number of helmets to be tested from each group of helmets undergoing a refinishing process.

In this study the various sources of variability in the testing procedure are examined. These sources include helmet-to-helmet variability, testing variability, and basic measurement error. A careful examination of this variability in the context of the NOCSAE-recommended testing procedures for recertifying helmets reveals an inadequacy in the NOCSAE standard, in that the probability of returning unsafe helmets to the playing field is unacceptably high.     

Relative age effects in professional German soccer: A historical analysis

Abstract

Relative age effects (RAEs) refer to the specific selection, participation and attainment (dis)advantages which occur as a result of physical and cognitive differences within annual age-grouped cohorts. The present study tracked the existence of RAEs in professional German soccer by examining RAEs in players, head coaches and referees who represented professional soccer clubs or officiated in the Bundesliga from 1963/64 to 2006/07. An additional objective was to consider the social-cultural mechanisms responsible for RAEs, so for a similar period, population and soccer participation information was also obtained. When players were categorised into half decade groups, chi-square analyses predominantly showed RAEs across the history of the Bundesliga, irrespective of dates used for annual age grouping in junior/youth soccer. RAEs were also apparent for head coaches but not for referees. Participation data indicated consistent and progressive growth from 1950 to 1990. RAEs influence the likelihood of attaining professional player and coaching status in German soccer. With many coaches being former players, inequalities associated with annual age-grouping appear to extend beyond a playing career. Officiating was not affected, with referees suggested to emerge from an alternative development pathway. Increased popularity of soccer may have propagated RAEs over time, through intensification of competition and selection mechanisms.     

Match activities of top-class female soccer assistant referees in relation to the offside line

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the match activities of top-class female assistant referees (mean age 34.8 years, s=3.5; stature 1.64 m, s=0.05; weight 58.1 kg, s=7.4; body mass index 21.6 kg · m^–2, s=2.4) in relation to the offside line. Computerized match analyses were performed on 14 top-class assistant referees during 10 matches (a total of 20 observations) from the 2006 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) under-20 Women's World Championship held in Russia. In addition, the position of the second last defensive player of both teams was calculated throughout the matches to determine the distance from the assistant referee to the offside line. The total distance covered during a game was 5594 m (s=473), of which 27% was sideways movements (1492 m, s=135). High-intensity activities (>13 km · h^–1) accounted for 1999 m (s=371). Mean distance from the offside line during the entire match was 1.06 m (s=0.26). Total distance covered, high-intensity activities, and distance from the offside line were not different (P>0.05) between the two halves of the game or consecutive 15-min match periods. Our results show that: (1) the kinematic demands placed on top-class female assistant referees are similar to those of top-class male assistant refereeing except for the amount of high-intensity activities, and (2) assistant referees were able to maintain the distance from the offside line during the match, which suggests an ability to keep up with the pace of the play throughout the match.     

Offside decision making of assistant referees in the English Premier League: Impact of physical and perceptual-cognitive factors on match performance

Abstract

In the present study, we investigated the accuracy of offside judgements of assistant referees in the English Premier League. The moment in the match, the position and movement speed of the assistant referee, attacker and second-last defender, together with the angle of view for the assistant referee were all considered to underlie incorrect decisions. The error rate was 17.5% (868 of 4960 situations). As the English assistant referees tended not to signal in doubtful situations (c = 0.91), there was an overall bias towards non-flag errors (773 non-flag errors vs. 95 flag errors). The flash-lag hypothesis could explain all flag errors, whereas the optical-error hypothesis could explain a proportion of the non-flag errors (45.4%). Fatigue, movement speed, and angle of view did not have a detrimental effect on offside decision making. In conclusion, there were fewer flag errors than in the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups, whereas the number of non-flag errors rose. The increased awareness of factors involved in offside decision making and the instructions to give the benefit of the doubt to attackers could have contributed to this situation.     

Defining advantage and athletic performance: The case of Oscar Pistorius

Abstract

Olympic style games were first held for athletes with disabilities in Rome in 1960. Today the Paralympic Games (parallel Olympics) feature competition for athletes from six disability groups, including amputee, visually impaired, and spinal cord injury. Olympic hosts, both summer and winter, are now contractually obliged to organize the Paralympics in the same venue. The size and popularity of the games have grown exponentially since their inception, but they remain largely separate from the Olympics themselves. Recently, a very successful Paralympic athlete from South Africa, Oscar Pistorius, made it clear that despite his double below-the-knee amputation he wanted to compete in his event (400 m) at the Olympics. Initially, however, Oscar Pistorius was prohibited from competing at any International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) competition on grounds of fairness. On the basis of biomechanical and physiological evidence, the IAAF argued that his highly specialized prosthetic limbs gave him an advantage and were therefore in contravention of Rule 144.2. This rule forbids the use of any technical device (such as prosthetic limbs) that provides the user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device. This decision was subsequently overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport following an appeal by Pistorius. Using this case as an example, the aim of this paper is to highlight the empirical and ethical difficulties associated with the application of the principle of fairness in sport. In particular, we discuss both the complexity of identifying the nature and size of athletic advantage and the basis for determining its validity. Moreover, we explore how similar difficulties arise when attempting to establish criteria for “relevant athletic performance”. We argue that reasonable rules and norms for competition are not simply inferred from the principle of fairness. Such rules and norms should result from careful judgements informed by scientific, conceptual, and ethical evidence, and be guided by the standards of excellence that best characterize the sport in question.     

Effect of positioning on the accuracy of decision making of association football top-class referees and assistant referees during competitive matches

Abstract The aim of this study was to examine the effect of positioning on the correctness of decision making of top-class referees and assistant referees during international games. Match analyses were carried out during the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Confederations Cup 2009 and 380 foul play incidents and 165 offside situations were examined. The error percentage for the referees when indicating the incidents averaged 14%. The lowest error percentage occurred in the central area of the field, where the collaboration of the assistant referee is limited, and was achieved when indicating the incidents from a distance of 11-15?m, whereas this percentage peaked (23%) in the last 15-min match period. The error rate for the assistant referees was 13%. Distance of the assistant referee to the offside line did not have an impact on the quality of the offside decision. The risk of making incorrect decisions was reduced when the assistant referees viewed the offside situations from an angle between 46 and 60°. Incorrect offside decisions occurred twice as often in the second as in the first half of the games. Perceptual-cognitive training sessions specific to the requirements of the game should be implemented in the weekly schedule of football officials to reduce the overall error rate.     

Errors in judging “offside” in association football: Test of the optical error versus the perceptual flash-lag hypothesis

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyse the correctness of the offside judgements of the assistant referees during the final round of the FIFA 2002 World Cup. We also contrasted two hypotheses to explain the errors in judging offside. The optical error hypothesis is based on an incorrect viewing angle, while the flash-lag hypothesis refers to perceptual errors associated with the flash-lag effect (i.e. a moving object is perceived as spatially leading its real position at a discrete instant signalled by a briefly flashed stimulus). Across all 64 matches, 337 offsides were analysed using digital video technology. The error percentage was 26.2%. During the first 15 min match period, there were significantly more errors (38.5%) than during any other 15 min interval. As predicted by the flash-lag effect, we observed many more flag errors (86.6%) than non-flag errors (13.4%). Unlike the predictions of the optical error hypothesis, there was no significant difference between the correct and incorrect decisions in terms of the positioning of the assistant referees relative to the offside line (0.81 and 0.77 m ahead, respectively). To reduce the typical errors in judging offside, alternative ways need to be considered to teach assistant referees to better deal with flash-lag effects.     

Reliability,sensitivity and validity of the assistant referee intermittent endurance test (ARIET) – a modified Yo-Yo IE2 test for elite soccer assistant referees

Abstract

We examined the reliability and validity of the assistant referee intermittent endurance test (ARIET), a modified Yo-Yo IE2 test including shuttles of sideways running. The ARIET was carried out on 198 Italian (Serie A-B, Lega-Pro and National Level) and 47 Danish elite soccer assistant referees. Reproducibility was tested for 41 assistant referees on four occasions each separated by one week. The ARIET intraclass correlation coefficients and typical error of measurement ranged from 0.96 to 0.99 and 3.1 to 5.7%, respectively. ARIET performance for Serie A and B was 23 and 25% greater than in Lega-Pro (P < 0.001). The lowest cut-off value derived from receiving operator characteristic discriminating Serie A-B from Lega-Pro was 1300 m. The ARIET performance was significantly correlated with [Vdot]O_2max (r = 0.78, P < 0.001), %HR_max after 4 min of ARIET (r = ? 0.81, P < 0.001) and Yo-Yo IR1 performance (r = 0.95, P < 0.001), but not sprint performance (r = ?0.15; P = 0.58). The results showed that ARIET is a reproducible and valid test that is able to discriminate between assistant referees of different competitive levels. The lack of correlation with sprinting ability and close correlations with aerobic power, intermittent shuttle running and sub-maximal ARIET heart rate loading provide evidence that ARIET is arelevant test for assessment of intermittent endurance capacity of soccer assistant referees.     

The impact of a team's aggressive reputation on the decisions of association football referees

It has been suggested that individuals may use heuristic methods of reasoning and rely on schemata when a quick decision is necessary. Accordingly, it is possible that decisions made by sport officials may be influenced by prior knowledge they have about teams they are officiating. The aim of the present study was to determine whether sport officials are more likely to penalize individuals who participate in a team with an aggressive reputation. In a balanced design, 38 football referees were randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group and were presented with the same 50 video clips of incidents from football games, all involving a team in a blue strip ('blue team'). The incidents were categorized before the study by five experienced referees into fouls committed both by, and against, the blue team, where all participants agreed that a foul had been committed (certain incidents), disagreed it was a foul (uncertain incidents) or agreed that there was no foul (innocuous incidents). Both groups received written instructions before the task; in addition, the experimental group was informed that the blue team present in all of the clips had a reputation for foul and aggressive play. For each incident, the participants were required to indicate what action they would engage in if refereeing the game. Although there was no difference in the number of decisions made, the experimental group awarded significantly more red and yellow cards against the blue team both overall and for the 'certain' incidents. It is suggested that prior knowledge may impact referees' behaviour in a laboratory setting, although future research should explore whether a similar effect is observed in the behaviour of referees during football matches.     

Excellence in Coaching

Abstract

During this study, 10 expert coaches were interviewed to examine their views on aspects of their individual coaching practice. Four themes emerged from the interviews: (a) the long-term approach, (b) the authentic coaching environment, (c) creating a learning environment, and (d) the quality and quantity of training sessions. These coaches were consistent in their attempts to facilitate learning experiences for the athletes, while setting high standards in both training and competition. The study's findings show that expert coaches have to orchestrate a large number of variables when planning and executing a training session, and their success depends on their coaching knowledge and their skill at contextualizing the necessary components for specific situations.     

第27届奥运会女子20公里竞走王丽萍、刘宏宇关键技术解析

国际田联的“竞走定义”规范了竞走比赛的技术动作标准。如果运动员违反“竞走定义”受到3名不同裁判员的严重警告，将被取消比赛资格，因此“竞走定义”成为竞走的关键技术。在第27届奥运会上王丽萍荣获女子20公里竞走项目金牌，但仍受到2名裁判员的严重警告。世界杯赛和世界锦标赛的双赛冠军刘洪宇，在第27届奥运会女子20公里比赛中于16公里处，因受到3名不同裁判员的严重警告，被取消比赛资格，失去争夺金牌的机会。因此，对王丽萍、刘宏宇竞走关键技术的解析是必要的，对符合“竞走定义”的技术给予巩固，对违反“竞走定义”的技术给予改进。     

Special populations: the referee and assistant referee

The referee has responsibility for control of players' behaviour during competitive football and implementing the rules of the game. To do this, the referee and the two assistant referees are obliged to keep up with play. Referees cover 10,000 m on average during a game, mean heart rate is about 160 - 165 beats . min(-1) and oxygen uptake is close to 80% of maximum (VO(2max). Assistant referees cover approximately 7500 m, mean heart rate is about 140 beats . min(-1) and the corresponding oxygen uptake is 65% VO(2max). Both groups display evidence of fatigue towards the end of the game, a phenomenon that has not been thoroughly examined for nutritional interventions. The estimated energy expenditure of referees during a game exceeds 5600 kJ. Both referees and assistant referees execute unorthodox patterns of movement during match-play that increase energy expenditure over normal locomotion. As high standards of fitness and decision making are expected of professional referees, there are nutritional consequences associated with the training regimes they adopt. The effects of nutritional interventions on cognitive performance during the later stages of a game are in need of further investigation.