Characteristics and status of the physical loads of elite football referees

G. Ignatov, K. Naydenova

Abstract: The level of development of modern professional football imposes increasingly higher requirements regarding physical training and, accordingly, loads not only on the players but also on the other side of the game, namely football referees. The management of a professional football match is a process that requires a complex of personal and professional qualities that the referee is capable to apply at a specific moment. More and more emphasis is placed on physical training. This is due to the fact that a well-prepared physical football referee would more effectively resist fatigue, which is a basic prerequisite for making correct and timely decisions.
Based on the above, we set the goal of the present study to determine the level of physical training of Bulgarian elite football referees by tracking the values of the pulse rate and the zones of physical exertion in which they work during a football match. We set the following research tasks:
1. Exploring the problem by literary sources.
2. Recording of individual physical exertion indicators during a football match.
3. Statistical processing, analysis, and interpretation of the data obtained.
We processed the study results using SPSS v.22 statistical software, applying specific statistical methods. As a result of the research and the subsequent analysis of the data, we found some specifics in the manifestation of physical exertion in elite soccer referees.

Series on Biomechanics, Vol.37, No.1 (2023), 36-42
DOI: 10.7546/SB.06.01.2023

Keywords: heart rate; physical exertion; physical training; Soccer; soccer referees

Date published: 2023-02-02