Match activities of top‐class female soccer assistant referees in relation to the offside line

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the match activities of top-class female assistant referees (mean age 34.8 years, s =3.5; stature 1.64 m, s=0.05; weight 58.1 kg, s=7.4; body mass index 21.6 kg • m~2, s=2.4) in relation to the offside line. Computerized match analyses were performed on 14 top-class assistant referees during 10 matches (a total of 20 observations) from the 2006 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) under-20 Women's World Championship held in Russia. In addition, the position of the second last defensive player of both teams was calculated throughout the matches to determine the distance from the assistant referee to the offside line. The total distance covered during a game was 5594 m (s=473), of which 27% was sideways movements (1492 m, s = 135). High-intensity activities (>13 km -bT 1 ) accounted for 1999 m (s=371). Mean distance from the offside line during the entire match was 1.06 m (s =0.26). Total distance covered, high-intensity activities, and distance from the offside line were not different (P > 0.05) between the two halves of the game or consecutive 15-min match periods. Our results show that: (1) the kinematic demands placed on top-class female assistant referees are similar to those of top-class male assistant refereeing except for the amount of high-intensity activities, and (2) assistant referees were able to maintain the distance from the offside line during the match, which suggests an ability to keep up with the pace of the play throughout the match.

The impact of team preferences on soccer offside judgments in laypersons: a quasi-experimental study

“…ARs are encouraged to align with the offside line because this is considered the optimal position for judging offside (IFAB 2018 , Practical Guidelines for Match Officials, p.184). However, studies have revealed that ARs do not perfectly align themselves with the offside line in a match but are often standing ahead or behind the offside line (e.g., Mallo et al 2010 ; Oudejans et al 2005 ). When the AR is standing ahead, or behind the offside line, the probability of flag errors (false alarms) or non-flag errors (misses) might increase depending on the particular spatial configuration of the AR, the second-last defender, and the forward (see Oudejans et al 2005 , for a detailed description).…”

Does uniform color affect offside in association football?

“…4 So far, sport science has mainly focused on the kinematic and physical factors that determine refereeing decisions. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] On the subject of perceptual cues, research has predominantly discussed the optical error versus the flash-lag hypothesis. [2][3][4]9,[13][14][15][16] Here Oudejans et al 9,16 showed an increasing number of incorrect offside decisions due to refereeing assistant's position relative to the offside line and the corresponding angle of view.…”

“…So far, sport science has mainly focused on the kinematic and physical factors that determine refereeing decisions . On the subject of perceptual cues, research has predominantly discussed the optical error versus the flash‐lag hypothesis .…”