Hawkey, Matthew (2023) Methodology Informing the Assignment of Match Referees in Professional Soccer. PhD thesis, Victoria University.

Abstract

Match officials, a term used to refer to a referee or assistant referee, are responsible for enforcing the laws of the game of soccer set forth by the International Football Association Board and the International Federation of Association Football for each match domestic or international governing bodies have assigned them. Defining the performance of match officials is not clearly established; however, selecting the correct match official, on the right match, on the right day, to deliver high performance is always the objective of the assignment. Although a soccer match consists of three match officials, this project focused on the preparation, recovery, match performance, and assignment of referees. Operationalizing on the abundance of data collected from match officials yields an opportunity to inform decision making and apply a decision support system to define, understand, and forecast performance better. Current evaluation and determination of a high-performing match official are unclear; therefore, this project implemented a methodology whereby a complete view of the match official on and off the field was explored to define better the optimal data required to design a decisionmaking framework. Although potentially useful for the day-to-day practitioner, findings in Studies 1 and 2 would require a different approach to link into the project's overall objective. Profiling match officials, players, and teams in Study 3 provided a foundation for determining physical demands during match play. Study 4 explained further the relationship and influence of fixtures, teams, and players on match officials. Based on findings from Studies 3 and 4, the fifth and final capstone study provided an analytical framework and potential for informing the decision-making process of assigning match officials. The methodology explored in this project has potential application across sports and the areas where talent selection is required.

Search Google Scholar

Repository staff login