Effects of past and current motor experiences as soccer players in decision-making of amateur soccer referees

The aim of the study was to address the influence of past and current motor experiences as soccer players in a sample of amateur soccer referees when judging ambiguous foul situations occurring in real soccer matches. A case design was used to evaluate the contribution of these motor experiences as soccer players on the accuracy of referees' decisions. Specifically, the participants were four referees without motor experiences as soccer players (no ME), four referees with past motor experiences as soccer players (past ME), and four referees with current experiences as soccer players (current ME). The decisions of each referee were assessed during a soccer game, with a total of 80 ambiguous actions. The percentage of correct decisions was 83.8% (current ME), 70% (past ME), and 50.3% (no ME), revealing an impact of motor experiences on decisions of amateur referees. Referees with current motor experiences showed higher sensitivity (d') making decisions than the other two referee groups. Specific decision biases (c) were also observed. In that, referees without motor experience called fewer fouls for incidents that were categorised as fouls, and referees with the current motor experience called more fouls for incidents that was categorised as no foul. These findings seem to reveal a differential contribution of the motor experiences as soccer players in the decision making of amateur referees judging ambiguous fouls during real soccer matches. The effects seem to depend on whether bodily experiences are present in general and whether they are current or past bodily experiences.