Research Article
Focused Attention, Reaction Time, and Reactive Agility in Football Referees: A Cognitive and Physical-Based Comparison
Abstract
Aim: The aim of this study is to compare the focused attention, reaction time and reactive agility performances of the referees.
Method: 76 male referees (38 referees, 38 assistant referees) participated in the study. In the study, Stroop Focused attention test was used to determine the attention performance of the referees, computerized reaction test was used to determine their response performance, and reactive agility test was used to determine the reactive agility performance. The data were analyzed with SPSS, and after the descriptive statistics, the normal distribution was checked, and the Mann-Whitney U test was applied.
Results: There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of age, height, weight, BMI, general scores of the attention test, and response time (p>0.05). However, significant differences were observed in the error and correction scores in Card 1 and Card 3 and the reactive agility time (p<0.05).
Conclusion: While the focused attention spans and reaction time of the referees and assistant referees were found to be similar, significant differences were found between the groups in terms of some attention sub-dimensions and reactive agility performance. These results show that specific cognitive and physical skill requirements differ according to job descriptions.
Keywords
References
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Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Sport and Exercise Nutrition, Sports Medicine |
| Journal Section | Research Articles |
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | October 1, 2025 |
| Submission Date | August 1, 2025 |
| Acceptance Date | September 21, 2025 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2025 Volume: 16 Issue: 4 |
