Man In The Middle (Episode 2) takeaways
Set during the Group Stage of the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League season, E2 takes a dive into the psychology of refereeing, as the top officials find themselves having to make the toughest calls...
My takeaways…
Stuart Carrington (author of Blowing The Whistle: The Psychology of Football Refereeing): “There’s no set criteria for the kindof person who needs to be a referee or overriding trend. The one theme is a love for the game and that can’t be underestimated.”
Ovidiu Hațegan: breaks his diagonal to be closer to Sancho because he’s causing lots of problems for the defense. Had great angle to get a penalty call correct!
Ovidiu Hațegan: “There on the pitch, I’m so focused. I’m in my own world.”
Stuart: “Referees are salespeople. A large part of their job is to sell a decision in addition to making it. Referees need to be prepared for criticism.”
Attribution theory: Coaches and sports people will often attribute failures to things that are external and unstable. Important for referees to understand this to protect themselves when criticism does happen.
Gianluca Rocchi: “I’m absolutely disappointed when I have to send off players. It’s never a nice situation.”
Björn Kuipers: “All top athletes need pressure and stress to perform. This includes referees.”
Know a soccer ref? Feel free to share this with them 💙