Decision-making in soccer referees: a look at effectiveness and efficiency

Abstract

This research takes a systemic look at the role of soccer referees in Colombia from the perspective of decision-making, taking into account how decisions are made individually and how they contribute to the collective development of a game, emphasizing the understanding of some of the mental processes involved, including attention span, memory capacity, and decision-making itself in a representative sample of volunteer referees from the city of Pamplona. The results show that the participants' visual perception was above average, an aspect that should be maintained. in terms of visual memory, the results were not optimal, with deficiencies found in its development, so an intervention program should be considered. Regarding the decision-making test, work should be done on the discomfort they often feel when exercising their role related to the speed with which they must make decisions and what contributes or does not contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of the results expected in their performance.