The difference in visual skills between expert versus novice soccer referees

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the visual skills of expert and novice soccer referees. Twenty expert soccer referees, twenty two novice soccer referees and twenty non-athletes male students were investigated for facility of accommodation, peripheral vision, eye saccadic movements and speed of recognition. The results showed that the expert soccer referees were superior in all of the visual skills, but there was no significant difference between novice referees and non-athletes. This substantial difference between expert and novice soccer referees implies that these visual skills are important for refereeing soccer. For detecting other visual skills in soccer, referees must use visual skills from other programs. This study suggested that talent identification and development of visual abilities among soccer referees is of fundamental importance to success.