A Comparison of Stress Levels of Maltese Eliteand Category One Football Match OfficialsDuring Different In-Match Occurrences

This study focuses on an overlooked football stakeholder, the match official (MO).Specifically, the study explores whether a difference in the MOs’ level of experience playsany part in mitigating or affecting their physiological responses to in-match occurrences.Currently, there seems to be a gap in this field of research, with current literature mainlyfocusing on the psychological effects brought about by acute stress. As such, four MOs’heart rate (HR) response to acute stress were analysed. The sample consisted of twoexperienced MOs from the ‘Elite’ category and two less experienced ones from ‘CategoryOne’. Data collection initially consisted of field observations, followed by the extraction ofHR data. This data was then analysed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis.The findings suggested that MOs’ level of experience had no tangible effect on the MOs’HR response to in-match occurrences. Other findings suggested that ‘crowd size’ and theMO’s ‘average HR’ during a match significantly affected the MO’s HR response to in-matchoccurrences. The only two in-match occurrences found to have had a statistically significantinfluence on the MOs’ HR response were found to be a ‘foul called’ and an ‘alleged foul’.These findings seem to indicate the need to explore ways of mitigating external stressors’impacting the MOs.