Physical demands on professional Spanish football referees during matches

Martínez-Torremocha, Gemma; Martín-Sánchez, María Luisa; García-Unanue, Jorge; Felipe, José Luis; Moreno-Pérez, Víctor; Paredes, Víctor; Guerrero, Leonor Gallardo; Sánchez-Sánchez, Javier

doi:10.1080/24733938.2022.2064539

Cited by 6 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A similar study compared national and non-national Spanish referees, and they found that non-national-level referees covered a total distance of about 5.5 km [19], which was a very low value. However, regional-level Brazilian referees cover about 10.8 km per match [12], a value that is close the values registered in top-tier referees in other European countries [1,2,8,13,19], and even within the Portuguese context, where a study that followed all Portuguese first league referees during one season found that the total distance covered was of 9.3 km [15].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

“…When comparing the metrics in each half, no significant differences were found with the exception of the high-intensity running, average velocity, and the heart rate variables. The finding of similar match load demands in each half is not quite in line with other studies, where differences were found for the total distance covered [12,15], high-intensity running [12], and accelerations and decelerations [2,15]. It was expected that referees would produce significantly fewer accelerations and decelerations, as in similar research, due to eventual fatigue.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…Within the Portuguese context, elite referees cover about 2.5 km of HIR and 436 m of sprinting [15], which is significantly more than what was observed in the present study. At a regional level, comparing the results obtained with the ones found in the literature, referees run slower, produce fewer accelerations, and show a lower average velocity than their higher-level counterparts [2,15,19]. However, it must be noted that, as stated above, regional-level Portuguese referees usually perform after having refereed one, or even more grassroots-level games the day before or even on the same day of the match analysed.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

“…High-intensity running Data were collected using a GPS tracking system (WIMU Pro, Realtrack Systems, Almeria, Spain). These devices were placed on a sports vest in a way that did not interfere with any type of movement, these devices being commonly used in the sports world, validated for team sports [20] and used in related studies with referees [2,19,21,22]. Heart rate data were collected using a heart rate monitor, included in the GPS devices, using a Garmin heartrate strap.…”

Section: Instruments and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Main referees and assistant referees play pivotal roles in football matches and are responsible for interpreting and judging various occurrences on the field. Like players, referees must have adequate levels of physical fitness to effectively fulfil their duties during the game [1][2][3][4]. Previous studies [4][5][6] have examined the development of physical capacities and their impact on the performance of football referees, indicating that higher levels of cardiorespiratory capacity lead to improved referee performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Physical and Physiological Demands of Amateur Portuguese Field and Assistant Football Referees

Gomes,

Mendes,

Ferreira

et al. 2024

Sports

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Referees are crucial elements in football, and they must meet the physical and physiological demands each match poses to them. The aim is to analyse the physical and physiological demands of amateur referees in games at the regional level (4th division), examining the differences between the first and second halves and between assistant (age: 25.10 ± 4.97) and main referees (age: 25.65 ± 5.12). A total of 29 matches were analysed with GPS devices, and internal and external load metrics were analysed. Overall, main referees, due to their central role in game management, showed higher levels of physical and physiological load than assistant referees, with more high-intensity activities, greater distance covered and higher heart rate. The results also revealed that there were no differences between the halves for total distance covered for either the main or assistant referees. However, the main referees covered a greater distance in high-intensity running during the first half (p = 0.05; d = 0.389). These findings emphasise the importance of tailored training protocols to enhance performance and reduce fatigue-related errors, highlighting the significance of endurance, high-intensity running ability, and strategies to manage transient fatigue in referee preparation.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

Section: Instruments and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Physical and Physiological Demands of Amateur Portuguese Field and Assistant Football Referees

Gomes,

Mendes,

Ferreira

et al. 2024

Sports

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Acute effects of a vigorous-intensity warm-up on response suppression and decision-making of football referees

Albaladejo-García,

Caballero,

Asencio

et al. 2024

Journal of Sports Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A Systematic Review of the Physical, Physiological, Nutritional and Anthropometric Profiles of Soccer Referees

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The importance of soccer referees is widely accepted by international soccer organizations and governing bodies, although there is little research summarizing and appraising the literature on soccer referees. The aim of this study was to systematically review the information related to physical demands, nutrition and physiological profiling of soccer referees. Methods Conforming with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, searches of three electronic databases (Web of Sciences, PubMed and Scopus) were conducted on 24 April 2022. The following search terms were used: (Soccer OR football AND refer*) AND (physical OR physiolo* OR load* OR “body composition” OR “fat mass” OR “fat free mass” OR “body size” OR “nutrition*” OR “nutritional assessment” OR “nutritional intake” OR “macronutrient*” OR “micronutrient*”). The inclusion criteria of the manuscripts written in English were that articles with male and/or female soccer referees and included relevant data concerning performance, physical testing, nutrition, body composition, body size and/or physiology of soccer referees. The tools developed by the National Institute of Health were used to assess risk of bias according to the study design. Results In total, 110 manuscripts were included in the present review. Match activities of soccer referees and assistant referees are not comparable. Variation in performance is influenced by competitive level and competitive schedules. Additionally, match performance is often used to validate field protocols. The associations between match indicators and field protocols were not constant across the included studies, particularly in short-maximal tests. An age decline in physical performance was not conclusive. Body size did not discriminate between referees and assistant referees, as well as referees of different competitive levels. Few studies focused on nutritional guidelines among referees, particularly exercise energy expenditure. Energy intake was comparable across studies, but referees did not follow the daily dietary recommendations. Aerobic output was frequently assessed, and it was not comparable to the values for soccer players. Conclusions Although there are decreases in the running profiles of older referees, they maintain the same distances from the ball, and thus, age per se should not be used to define participation at the international level. The assessment of physical fitness warrants future consideration given the levels of fatigue that are apparent at the end of matches. In order to attain ideal levels of body composition, future studies need to provide guidelines for daily energy expenditure and nutritional intake. Trial registration: The protocol was published in INPLASY (International Platform of Registered Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols) with the registration number 202280052 and https://doi.org/10.37766/inplasy2022.8.005.

show abstract

Physical demands on professional Spanish football referees during matches

Cited by 6 publications

References 31 publications

Physical and Physiological Demands of Amateur Portuguese Field and Assistant Football Referees

Physical and Physiological Demands of Amateur Portuguese Field and Assistant Football Referees

Acute effects of a vigorous-intensity warm-up on response suppression and decision-making of football referees

A Systematic Review of the Physical, Physiological, Nutritional and Anthropometric Profiles of Soccer Referees

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About