Tag Archive for 'arbitro'

Referees: 140 decisioni every match

Published on November 29, 2022 in Allenatori, Calcio, Corsa, Generale, Giovani, Mental coaching, Olimpiadi, Stress, Tennis and Tiro a volo. 0 Comments Tags: .

When we talk about referees we usually do not think about the many decisions they have to make during a game, there are about 140 that out of 95 minutes of play correspond to more than one decision per minute.

In this regard the referee experiences the same condition as the footballer, who equally has to make many decisions, with the difference the effort is decided by the coach and the team implements it with appropriate variations due to what happens on the field. The referee performs the same performance, making decisions according to what happens, but he does not train during the week to live these moments.

“We have only physical part about the training session because we only have a physical training session. We have schedules for that. But for mental preparation we have…alone preparation…private preparation because every referee decides with himself (sic) if (they) do this type of mental preparation or not. For example, I work with many, many hours with this in the past because I think it is very important. When you prepare very well it is very important.”

Despite officials recognising psychological training as a valuable and ‘key aspect’ of their performance, it was apparent that it receives less attention than other aspects of performance. While the range of psychological skills training is broad, psychological training in referees should extend beyond the traditional ‘canon’ of psychological skills training in sport, identified as relaxation, self-talk, imagery, goal setting and concentration (Anderson, 2009). For instance, concepts couched within social psychology such as group process have been identified as beneficial to sports officials (Hancock et al., 2018). Specifically, when asked if psychological training should be mandatory for officials, Frank replied: “It should be…I hope in the future they introduce this type of person [psychologists] because I think it’s one of the secrets of a referee to have a freedom of worry.”

Naturalmente, in Italia siamo lontani anche dalla classica preparazione psicologica degli arbitri che è lasciata completamente sulle loro spalle.

A chi vuole approfondire suggerisco di leggere il seguente articolo dove sono discussi questi aspetti:

Carrington, S.C., North, J.S., Brady, A. (2022). Utilising experiential knowledge of elite match officials: Recommendations to improve practice design for football referees. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 53(3), 242-266.

Post to Twitter Ti piace? Twittalo

The not said rules of the referee job

Published on November 26, 2022 in Allenatori, Calcio, Corsa, Generale, Giovani, Mental coaching, Olimpiadi, Stress, Tennis and Tiro a volo. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Referee work is subject to rules that have been changed during this World Cup, I am referring to the length of recovery issues but there are other unwritten ones from the world of soccer that tend to keep the perception that fans and the wider public manifest towards this activity at an alert level at all times: These rules can be defined as follows:

  • Since the dawn of sports, it has been a social phenomenon in which there has always been a symbiosis between athletic performance and spectators, and it should be remembered that the earliest known events date back to 5,220 BC. It means that spectators have always sided with the athletes competing by dividing into factions.
  • Soccer is a ritualized version of hunting, where the players are the hunters, the weapon is the ball, the prey is the goal, and the referee is the tribal judge over whom no one can interfere when making a decision.
  • A referee’s decision in favor of one team is against the interests of the other. Every time the referee communicates a decision, half the players, the coach and the spectators feel some form of disappointment. This is at every level the nature of competitive soccer.
  • Players’ reactions to the award of a decision that is bad for them are significantly influenced by the communication style that the referee displays in that situation
  • The public’s and soccer players’ perception of the fairness of the referee’s actions is extremely important, however, in soccer this type of perception is just as strongly influenced by expectations of the referee, e.g., knowing that he is a referee who never gives a penalty against the home team in the last five minutes of the game.
  • The perceived fairness of the referee depends on how soccer players evaluate his level of competence, independence of judgment, and respect toward teams.

Post to Twitter Ti piace? Twittalo

The referee: a man alone with his worries

Published on January 18, 2022 in Allenatori, Calcio, Corsa, Generale, Giovani, Mental coaching, Olimpiadi, Stress, Tennis and Tiro a volo. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Once again a refereeing error negatively affected the result of the match. It happened in Milan-Spezia where Serra for a supposed foul by Bastoni stopped the attack of Rebic, who had served Messias, whose shot under the cross had been successful.

The referee immediately realized the glaring mistake he had made but obviously could not turn back. This fact shows us once again that sometimes it is the referees who have a major influence on the outcome of the match. Technology helps but does not exempt from mistakes. This new case highlights a substantial difference between the errors of the players and those of the referees. The former have the team to take refuge in while the referees remain alone with their sense of guilt for having made a mistake, which should not have happened. Everyone agrees that mistakes are part of the game but this assumption is not enough for the referee to get out of the angst that a serious mistake causes. Serra’s mistake is like that of Jorginho who misses the decisive penalty or of the gymnasts who pursue the perfection of their performance without succeeding. We never talk about volleyball or basketball refereeing, because the referee’s choices rarely determine the final result, they are sports where points are scored in every minute of the match and the value of referee’s sanctions have less impact on the match. In soccer it is different. The goal is a rare event and the game is influenced by cautions, important facts for that game and the next.

The player goes to the field the next day and has teammates and staff to share his problems with. The referee has no one, he has no teammates, he has a boss, the manager who, if on one hand can understand him, on the other hand is the one who decides the games he will referee and if it is the case to stop him for some championship turns. The referee is alone in having to fight with the insecurities generated by a wrong choice, and I hope that in his private life he has people with whom he can share his feelings and fears, without being judged but simply accepted, because mistakes are part of any profession.

L’arbitro: un uomo solo con le sue insicurezze

Post to Twitter Ti piace? Twittalo

The distorted dialogue between coaches and referees

Published on December 15, 2021 in Allenatori, Calcio, Generale, Mental coaching and Stress. 0 Comments Tags: , .

During this season there have been so many expulsions of coaches in Italian football Seria A. The phenomenon reflects a level of occupational stress that coaches often have difficulty controlling and consequently the field during the matches inveigh against referees. What might be the causes:

Pressure - There is a strong demand from the Club managers and fans to win and the result and also the inability of the Clubs to allow, with rare exceptions, at the coach to work on targets that are not only those of the next game.

Insecurity - The effect is that the coach will likely exonerated if he loses a few games or if he is not meet the expectations of the president.

Exposure - The coaches are daily on the newspapers and sports broadcasts. Around them spread a  continuous gossip exposes their choices to the ongoing discussion of the public and journalists, which are interrupted only during the game to get up immediately after, during the post-game interviews.

Cohesion - Coach complaints are also a way of shifting the referee’s attention to themselves in order to achieve a team cohesion effect and an increase in the aggressiveness of the players in response to the frustration derived from their coach’s warning or ejection.

Under these conditions it is not easy to carry out their work and certainly for the coaches can be useful to engage in mental coaching  programs to improve their ability to manage the stress they need to cope during their job. On the other hand, this is an improvement approach used by the managers of the companies to improve their own leadership.

Finally, it must be said that referees should also be better prepared, they often prove to be touchy and want to remind with extreme gestures that they are the ones in charge on the field. And so we are very far from Paolo Casarin’s, when he used to explain to referees that they “are guests” and therefore they should know how to convey this mentality even in the hottest situations of the matches. On the other hand, it is completely unknown what the mental preparation of our referees is today.

Post to Twitter Ti piace? Twittalo

Pull own shirt in attempt to deceive referee

Published on October 15, 2014 in Calcio. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

The Brazilian striker Leandro Damião has taken simulation to a whole new level by appearing to pull his own shirt in Criciuma’s 3-0 win over Santos in an attempt to deceive the referee. The 25-year-old Santos forward, linked with a move to Tottenham in recent years, attempted the shameful act at a free-kick for his side during their Brazilian Serie A defeat but fortunately the referee was not duped.

Leandro Damião

Post to Twitter Ti piace? Twittalo

Psychology for skater referees

Published on January 13, 2014 in Generale and Stress. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Usually we think that the referees are those who feel the most stress are football and team games umpires or we think at the excessive subjectivity of the gymnastics or ice skating referees, where they must evaluate the technical and expressive performances immune to international trick. There is however at least one other type of referee performance extremely complex and it’s that of roller skating. I have known these referees involved in a very demanding job,because the offenses occur in a fraction of seconds and athletes are continuously engaged in committing offenses in order to win. The quality of their perception, attention and memory is continuously stressed and on this are based their decisions. At the same time they have to suffer the fan insults and the complaints of athletes. Their world is a really complex, that no expert has yet been taken.

Post to Twitter Ti piace? Twittalo

Why it is so difficult to be referee

Published on March 14, 2013 in Calcio. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , .

The referee’s performance depends to certain unwritten  football and sport rules  tending to keep to a critical level the perception that the fans and the wider public show toward this activity: These rules are as follows:

  • Until the dawn the sport has been a social phenomenon in which there has always been a symbiotic relationship between athletic performance and audience, and it must be remembered that the early events of which we have knowledge back to 5.220 b.c. It means that the public has always sided with the athletes who competed.
  • Football is a ritualized version of the hunting, where the players are the hunters, the weapon is the ball, the prey is the gate and the referee is the tribal judge on which no one can interfere when making a decision.
  • The decision of the referee in favor of a team is against the interests of the other. Whenever the referee communicate a decision, half of the players, the coach and the audience feel some kind of disappointment. This is, at all levels, the competitive nature of football.
  • The reactions of the players at a negative decision for them are significantly influenced by the style of communication that the referee shows in that situation.
  • The perception of fairness of the refereeing action by the public and the players is extremely important, and this type of perception is also strongly influenced by the expectations and the role played by the various actors.
  • The perception of referee’ s fairness depends on how the players evaluate his skill level, judgment independence and respect for the teams.

Post to Twitter Ti piace? Twittalo

L’autogestione arriva sul campo di calcio

Published on December 11, 2011 in Generale. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Da quest’anno i bambini di 8-10 anni che giocano a calcio sono arbitrati da un loro coetaneo. Lo spiega Maurizio Crosetti sula Repubblica di oggi. La partita che ha visto si è svolta a Torino e gli unici a protestare sono stati i ragazzi che dicono non sempre gli altri si fermano quando viene fischiato un fallo. L’effetto è stato comunque positivo, perchè i genitori non hanno protestato come invece fanno al solito e gli allenatori sono stati soddisfatti. Questa è la strada per responsabilizzare i bambini, che imparano a fare proprie le regole senza aspettare la decisone dell’adulto.arbitro. I genitori potranno al massimo bisbigliare le loro proteste, perchè come si fa a insultare un bambino e la società sportiva vive un clima più disteso e meno litigioso. Speriamo continui e non si smetta perchè magari andato via Gianni Rivera da presidente del settore giovanile del calcio non arrivi qualcun altro a cui questa dimensione del calcio non interessa.

Post to Twitter Ti piace? Twittalo

Quando la presunzione è un ostacolo

Published on October 3, 2011 in Generale. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

La partita dll’arbitro Rocchi è stata ampiamente valutata in modo negativo. Non ha compiuto solo un errore ma una serie dall’ammonizione iniziale alla convalida del goal dopo il rigore. Dal punto di vista mentale non sono errori dovuti alla velocità del gioco o al non essere posizionato in modo da potere vedere, perchè errori di questo tipo se ne può commettere uno e non quattro consecutivimnell’arco di 30 minuti. Si tratta, a mio avviso, di un tipico errore di presunzione e di arroganza, a conferma di ciò Rocchi non si è mai consultato con i suoi collaboratori. Siamo in questo caso nella situazione opposta alla subordinazione psicologica, domina la componente autoritaria. Si può cambiare il corso della partita con decisioni che si basano su comportamenti rigidi e dogmatici. Non è facile restare equilibrati quando il ruolo pone trabocchetti quali sono l’arroganza e la subordinazione, in questo caso Rocchi non c’è riuscito.

Post to Twitter Ti piace? Twittalo

Buon lavoro agli arbitri

Published on September 25, 2011 in Generale. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Si parla sempre della mente degli atleti e delle squadre, nonchè del ruolo di leader degl allenatori. In questo periodo d’inizio di molti campionati nessuno però si occupa di ricordare quanto sia importante la funzione dell’arbitro. Non c’è evento sportivo senza l’arbitro, il cui operare in modo efficace e giusto è indispensabile. I giudi di gara sono però sottoposti agli stress agonistici che vivono gli sportivi e anche per loro è necessaria un’adeguata preparazione psicologica, tale da sostenerli nella gestione delle partite. Deve mostrare la sua profesionalità attraverso comprtamenti e scelte equilibrata, senza essere teatrale, senza mostrare familiarità senza mostrarsi amico dei contendenti. L’arbitro deve essere un leader sobrio che non deve subordinare le sue scelte alla fama dei giocatori che arbitra o alla rilevanza della competizione. Deve invece mostrare uniformità di giudizio e permettere al gioco di scorrere all’interno delle regole.

Post to Twitter Ti piace? Twittalo