“It Comes Down to Strength and Stamina”: Video Assistant Referee and the Reproduction of Masculine Performance in Football Refereeing

The elite football refereeing role is influenced by technological developments in sport, most recently by the implementation of Video Assistant Referee (VAR). However, technological innovations such as VAR are most-often implemented in men's elite football, where women are underrepresented as referees. Traditionally, elite football refereeing is rooted in gendered practices favoring men and masculinity. We utilize an analytical framework combining Goffman's dramaturgical approach with hegemonic masculinity to examine the ways in which gendered practices of football refereeing are challenged, redefined, or reproduced through the integration of VAR technology. Methodologically the study is based on 23 interviews with elite referees and instructors taking part in VAR training prior to the inaugural VAR-season in Norway. The findings show that although the implementation of VAR challenges and changes how elite refereeing is practiced, the gendered practices favoring men and masculinity are largely reproduced. The analysis illustrates how the changing refereeing practices following the introduction of VAR are intertwined with performances of masculinity, reinforcing the belief that men are best suited to serve as elite referees. Further, practices of hegemonic masculinity are perpetuated by VAR being embedded within the refereeing role. The implementation of VAR in elite football demonstrates how gender and technology may intertwine in ways that yield ambiguous outcomes, which there is a need for future studies to examine.