Metaphorical Analysis of Istanbul Volleyball Referees' Perceptions of the Concept of Fair Play

Volleyball, a sport where speed, strategy, and teamwork are at the forefront, is one of those branches where the principle of fair play plays a significant role, particularly among referees. Referees play a crucial role in ensuring matches are conducted fairly and in accordance with the rules, and are a key element in maintaining and developing the concept of fair play. The purpose of this research is to reveal the perceptions of active volleyball referees in Istanbul in 2025 regarding fair play representations and their interpretations of this technique.In this context, the study aims to reveal volleyball referees' perceptions of and interpretations of the concept of fair play. A total of 71 active volleyball referees in Istanbul participated in the 2025 survey, 30 women and 41 men. However, upon review, it was determined that 10 surveys were incorrectly completed and were subsequently discarded. Therefore, the responses of 61 participants were included in the analysis. After receiving ethical approval from the Siirt University Ethics Committee (No. 8252) on January 2, 2025, surveys were created using Google Forms; informational announcements regarding the study were shared on social media platforms and made available online to volunteer participants.A phenomenological design, a qualitative research method, was used in the study. To obtain the data, each referee was asked to complete the sentence, "Fair play is like/similar to ……………; because ……." Content analysis was used in the data analysis. According to the findings, the metaphors they created for the concept of "fair play" were grouped under the headings "Element of Honesty," "Element of Justice," "Element of Respect," "Element of Goodness," "Element of Need," "Element of Love," "Element of Peace," and "Element of Happiness."In conclusion, while the concepts of "morality," "justice," "respect," "love," "peace," and "happiness"—which are volleyball referees' perceptions of fair play—are parallel to the literature, volleyball also contains additional themes distinct from the literature due to the different physical contacts involved. Furthermore, we believe that volleyball referees' expression of their fair play perceptions through metaphors will bring a new perspective to the literature by demonstrating their perspectives on their professional values.