Magnitude of Psychological Stress Reported by Soccer Referees

The purpose of this investigation was to identify the magnitude of psychological stress reported by soccer referees and assistant referees (linesmen). One hundred and fifty-six soccer referees who were members of the Turkish Soccer Referees' Committee responded to a survey that assessed perceived stress related to refereeing. Results showed that mean ratings of psychological stress scores of referees ranged between "a very little" and "moderate amount". Results also showed that there was no significant difference between referees' and assistant referees' magnitude of psychological stress. These results were consistent with those of previous studies, suggesting that most sport referees do not experience much stress while refereeing.