Personal Factors of Referees in Football Influencing the Formation of Refereeing Styles

Objectives. The study aimed to determine the psychological characteristics of football referees that influence the formation of their refereeing styles. Materials and Methods. Twenty-five football referees from professional leagues in Ukraine (aged 25–40 years, with 7–17 years of refereeing experience) participated in the study. The sample included 12 referees from the Ukrainian Premier League, 6 from the First League of the Professional Football League (PFL), and 7 female referees. A battery of psychological diagnostic methods was used, including the Self-Assessment of Stress Resistance scale, Eysenck’s Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), Hall’s Emotional Intelligence Assessment, and Amirkhan’s Coping Strategy Indicator. Results. The assessment of stress resistance revealed that female referees scored 10.2% higher than male referees (33.3 vs. 36.7 points, respectively). The study of coping strategies showed that subjects, overall, were characterized by an average level of Problem Focusing and Seeking Social Support, but a low level of Avoidance. In general, football referees exhibited a low level of Managing one’s emotions and Recognition of others’ emotions (median score: 6 points). The remaining indicators corresponded to the average level. Fifty-two percent (52.0%) of the subjects demonstrated a low level of emotional intelligence, while the remaining 48.0% displayed an average level. Conclusions. The findings have established that, in general, football referees demonstrate an average level of stress resistance; however, this feature does not statistically significantly affect the choice of refereeing style. Statistically significant (p<0.050) correlations have been identified between referees’ coping strategies and their officiating styles, indicating that the coping strategies used by officials to manage stress have a direct impact on their approach to match management. In particular, referees who tend to actively engage in problem-solving and seek effective solutions are more likely to demonstrate an authoritarian refereeing style. Simultaneously, referees who tend to avoid problems are more likely to exhibit a liberal refereeing style. No statistical relationship was found between the democratic style and coping strategies.