Sports Medicine International Open recently published

Running Performance and Position is Not Related to Decision-Making Accuracy in Referees

Amund Riiser, Vidar Andersen, Atle Sæterbakken, Einar Ylvisaker, Vegard Fusche Moe

The authors aimed to assess if running performance is related to decision-making accuracy in referees. They also investigated the relationships between movement, position, decision-making and time of infringement. The study included 347 free kicks and penalties awarded during all 15 home field matches for one team in the Norwegian top league. Movement and position were measured by a radio-based positioning system, and two external experts analyzed the video clips. Eleven male field referees weighing 74.9±6.5 kg, 182.5±7.3 cm tall, and aged 35.4±7.0 years with 9.8±5.2 years of experience as top-level referees in Norway participated in the study.

DOI:10.1055/a-0958-8608