Match Physical and Physiological Response of Amateur Soccer Referees: A Comparison between Halves and Match Periods

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to examine the differences in the external and internal load in amateur match officials between the 1st and 2nd half and among different 15 min periods. Twenty-three field referees (FRs) and 46 assistant referees (ARs) from the Spanish División de Honor participated in this study. Match external and internal loads were monitored showing that FRs recorded a lower Powermean, Speedmean, Cadencemean and Stiffnessmean (p < 0.05; d = 0.52 to 0.57) during the 2nd half and they also recorded a lower HRmean, and HRpeak, and spent less time in zone 5 (p < 0.05; d = 0.50 to 0.62). The FRs’ match load decreased during the match but they performed higher Powermean and covered more distance in the last 15 min of the match (p < 0.01; d = 0.87 to 4.28). The ARs external load did not show significant variations between halves, but ARs recorded a lower HRmean and spent less time in zone 5 (p < 0.01; d = 0.41 to 0.63), and the highest values of Powermean, Speedmean, Cadencemean and Vertical oscillationmean during the first 15 min of the match (p < 0.05; d = 0.45 to 0.75). The highest values of HRmean and distance covered were in the 0–15 min period. Results suggest that match load decreases as the match progresses because of the neuromuscular fatigue but increases in the last 15 min.

Assessing the Match Physical Responses of International Referees for Footballers with Cerebral Palsy: A Tournaments and Halves Comparative Analysis

“…While the findings have been mixed in the existing literature with respect to these variables, there have been some studies that demonstrated that physical responses were reduced in the 2nd half [ 25 , 38 ], as was the case for the World Championship in this study. More recent studies have shown that there were no differences in the distance covered between the 1st and 2nd halves [ 13 , 29 , 30 , 39 ], which is consistent with what is reported in the total values of the observations in this study. The negative influence of eligible impairments in footballers with CP have been extensively studied showing diminished physical performance as compared to footballers without CP [ 2 , 9 , 40 , 41 ].…”

“…International games place demands on acceleration and deceleration actions highlighting that referees must be physically prepared to keep up with the game at any level of international play [ 12 ]. Interestingly, the obtained results in maximum speed (22.04 ± 2.69 km/h) were similar to those described by regular football referees, registering ~20.86 km/h [ 30 ], ~25.47 km/h [ 31 ], and ~19.40 km/h [ 32 ]. However, lower short-term actions were presented in CP football referees as compared to the performance of referees in regular football which might be due to the specific characteristics, the field size, and the demands of the para-sport.…”