Decision Making of Football Referee and Assistant Referee in Liga 1

Indonesia

Mochamad Yamin Saputra, Sagitarius Sagitarius and Alen Rismayadi

Faculty of Sport and Health Education, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia,

Jl. Dr. Setiabudhi No. 229, Bandung, Indonesia

mochyamins@upi.edu

Keywords: Referee, Football, Decision Making.

Abstract: The decision of a football referee in a match will affect the outcome of a match, whether it is a violation or a

simulation, the player is in an offside or outside position. Many events in a match must be decided by the

referee and referee assistant. In Liga 1 Indonesia, a lot of factors that affect the decision of referees and

assistant referees one of them is the host factor, distance and point of view, and mental of referee itself, so

that researchers have a desire to know how many times football referees and referees assistants decide a

decision related to the match in League 1 of 2016/2017. In this study researchers used descriptive method

with population of 5 FIFA referees and 5 referee assistants and samples using purposive sampling so that only

3 referees and 3 assistants who became the sample. The results of observations obtained the referees make

decisions in the game entirely are 1077 decisions consisting of non-infringement 41.13%, violation 45.4%,

and bias 13.46% and referee assistant taking offside decision total is 64, correct decision 93.75% while bias

6.25%. The conclusion of this research is that decision-making conducted by referees and referee assistants

have a very small bias level.

1 INTRODUCTION

The existence of a factor of pleasure, joy, sadness,

cheating, injustice and other parts of it is a factor that

often occurs in sports games, football is no exception.

When a team loses then the player, official, the

audience will release their sadness, a joy will come

when the victory is achieved by a team and the

audience will spark their victory, and there is also

anger made by the audience or players because of an

injustice from the referee in the lead (Coakley: 1994).

There’s no exception in Indonesia, the chaos that

occurred in the competition one of them caused by the

decision of the referee. In the football game many

elements are involved in it, players who play on the

field, reserve players, coaches, managers, referees,

health workers, media, and also the audience. All the

elements involved are one and the other have their

respective duties, in their duties with each other must

have a sense of mutual respect for each other for the

game can run in accordance with the rules that apply.

(Catteeuw, Helsen, Gilis, and Wagemans: 2009). In

this study researchers only see from the element and

the role of the referee in leading the game in Liga 1

Indonesia.

A referee in the lead requires very good physical

skills, they must always move to get the ideal

position, so that every event will be seen clearly and

can decide the event based on what is seen, not based

on the response of other things. The soccer referees in

a game should move about 10-12 km with 10-15% of

high speed physical activity, while for referee

assistants move about 6-7 km with 15-20% high

speed (Mallo, Navarro, Garcia-Aranda, and Helsen:

2009).

The referee must always move and seek an ideal

position in order to make his decision in accordance

with the rules and be sure of his decision, a football

referee when leading the game takes a decision about

140 decisions from an average of 41 incidents

(Helsen and Bultynck: 2004). The number of

decisions a referee will make in a match requires that

a referee has a high level of concentration, and high

concentrations can be possessed if they have excellent

fitness. In good condition or fit, a referee will have a

Saputra, M., Sagitarius, S. and Rismayadi, A.

Decision Making of Football Referee and Assistant Referee in Liga 1 Indonesia.

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Sports Science, Health and Physical Education (ICSSHPE 2017) - Volume 1, pages 435-439

ISBN: 978-989-758-317-9

435

distance between events with a relatively close

position, and also has a very clear and open

viewpoint, so the decisions taken will be convincing

and not hesitated. In the English league the minimum

distance between the events with the referee covers

20 m and the average English referee moves and

follows the ball groove spaced 17.7 m (Szczepanik,

2009). Then, in what level the Indonesian referee is

at? There is no research that discusses it for the

development of referees Indonesia.

A referee in charge of the match is assisted by two

assistant referees who have the duty of assisting the

referee in any incident not seen by the referee, in

particular is to see or detect the offside position

performed by the attacker in accordance with the

rules of game 11 in the rule of the game FIFA

(2016/2017). The assistant referee in detecting an

offside player in an offside position should move

following the last second defender during the game.

(Mallo, Navarro, Garcia-Aranda, and Helsen: 2009).

In addition to following the last second defender, the

assistant referees should also be able to predict who

is feeding the attacker, where the ball is played, in

what situation the ball is played and where the

player's position is before the ball is played, from

these positions an assistant referee must have an angle

the ideal view (Catteeuw, P., Gilis, B., Wagemans, J.,

and Helsen, W 2010).

The decision of the referee and the referee

assistant is sometimes wrong or biased in his

decision-making, but the decision will be based on a

deliberate or accidental mistake. Unintentional action

decided by referees and assistant referees is based on

the fact that referees are human beings who are

inseparable from a mistake, this is the nature of man

(Hoseini, Aslankhani, Abdoli, and Mohammadi,

2011). The deliberate decision of the referee must be

motivated by the element of psychological pressure

or disturbance from the referee before and during the

lead so the decisions he makes will be biased

(Philippe, et al. 2009). Basically a referee will not

harm a team, because they have been sworn in as a

court in the field and they will bear the consequences

of the decisions that have been taken.

A referee and an assistant referee in carrying out

his duties must comply with FIFA rules and

regulations (206/2017) and this applies throughout

the world, not least in the Indonesian League, they

must carry out the rules during the game. In this study

the authors only see the referee's decision based on

article 12 (violation and unsportsmanlike behavior),

while for the assistant referee is the decision taken

under article 11 (offsaid). It is expected that from

what has been written can provide a reference to PSSI

(Football Association of All Indonesia) for the

development of referees and assistant referees, so that

will improve the quality of referees in Indonesia.

2 METHOD

The method used in this research is descriptive

method. The population in this study is the entire

FIFA Indonesia referee who amounted to 5 referees

and 5 assistants. The sample in this study was taken

using purposive sampling technique, where

researchers took 3 referees and 3 assistants who

served in Liga 1 Indonesia in 2017. In the data

retrieval conducted by researchers is each referee and

assistant referee only taken when served in League 1

in half the season. In the data retrieval researchers

only make observations of the video match, so it can

be known how many times the referee gives a

decision about the violation or not, and whether the

violation should be given a yellow card or red card.

The instruments used are the decision of the referee

in making the decision of article 12 or violation and

unsportsmanlike behavior (FIFA: 2016/2017), while

the assistant referees are only the decision of Article

11 which is about offside (FIFA: 2016/2017). The

data analysis used is the percentage, by calculating

the percentage of each decision taken by the referee

and the assistant referee.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Result

After the data from the sample is found out, then the

author analyzed the data obtained. The test results and

data analysis are calculated to get the average value

and standard deviation. The results of the referee's

decision in League 1 Indonesia are as follows:

Table 1: Result of calculation of average score and standard

deviation.

Name

Total

Average

Score

 

Standard

Deviation

(S)

Referee

1077

63,35

9,96

Referee

Assistant

3,05

1,6

ICSSHPE 2017 - 2nd International Conference on Sports Science, Health and Physical Education

436

From table 1 it can be explained that the result of

observation data of referee decision making in

League 1 Indonesia obtained average score, and

standard deviation, for referee 1077 total decision

taken by referee, 63,35 average value, and standard

deviation 9, 96, and assistant referee total offside

decisions were 64 decisions, averaging 3.05 and

standard deviation 1.6. Having known the value of the

average, and standard deviation, then the author

continues the process and analysis of data.

Table 2: Percentage results of referee’s decision in liga 1

Indonesia 2017.

Name

Violation

Percent

Violation

Percent

Bias

Percent

Referee

132

187

124

37,29

41,1 %

46,27

171

205

113

48,31

45,05

42,16

14,41

13,85

11,57

Total

443

41,13

489

45,4 %

145

13,46

From the calculation of the percentage, that the

decision of the referee to declare an incident is not

punishable violation is about 443 violations or

41.13% consisting of 37.29% for referee 1, referee 2

41.1%, and referee 3 46.27%. This states that the

referee saw the incident in the field there was no

elements of violations that are adjusted to the law of

the game FIFA 2016/2017. While the referee declared

a violation incident about 489 violations or 45.4%

consisting of referee 1 48.31%, referee 2 45.05%, and

referee 3 42.16%. It states that the referee sees an

offense in accordance with the rules of article 12

(FIFA 2016/2017). While the bias is stated that any

incident that should be referee violation does not

mention it is a violation, and vice versa that should

not violate the referee considers it a violation. Of

these can be obtained a total of 145 decisions or

13.46%, which consists of referee 1 14.41%, referee

2 13.85% and referee 3 11.57%.

Table 3: Decision percentage result of assistant referee in

liga 1 Indonesia 2017.

Name

Offside

Percent

Bias

Percent

Assistant

referee 1

Assistant

referee 2

Assistant

referee 3

95,83 %

91,31 %

94,12 %

4,17 %

8,69 %

5,88 %

Total

93,75 %

6,25 %

From the calculation of the percentage, that the

decision of the assistant referee who declared an

offside punishment event is about 95.83% for

assistant referee 1, 91.31% for assistant referee 2, and

94.12% for assistant referee 3. While the bias stated

that any incident that should be punished offside by

the referee declared onside and vice versa. It can be

obtained that percentage of assistant referee 1 was

4.17%, assistant referees 2 was 8.69% and assistant

referees 3 was 5.88%. The overall total result of the

assistant referee's decision on the offside was 93.75%

and the fault made by the assistant referee in the

offside decision was 6.25%.

3.2 Discussion

From the calculation of the data, it can be seen that

the referee and assistant referee in providing a lot of

decisions in the field, with a total decision of 1077

decision or average 63 decisions in every game and

must adjust to the rules that apply is not an easy thing,

the referee should be able to predict and make sure

the decision is taken, whether there is a violation or

not, whether it should be a yellow card or a red card.

From every decision taken it is very likely the

existence of an error or bias, because of the function

of the human itself. (Hoseini, Aslankhani, Abdoli,

and Mohammadi, 2011). In this study there is a small

biased decision. But the small bias value remains a

problem for a referee and an assistant referee because

with that bias is likely to have an effect on the final

score of a match (Dawson and Dobson, 2010). The

results of this referee's research took a decision in an

average game of 63.35 while the assistant referees in

decision making offside 3.05 per game. From the

decision taken there is a decision that is considered

referee bias regarding the decision of the violation is

13.46% referee fault in the violation decision and

6.25% for the assistant about the offside decision.

These results certainly do not reflect the overall

match in Indonesia, due to the referee's sampling and

the few tending matches. In another study stated that

there was an error rate of 14.2% for referees and

12.7% for assistant referees (Mallo et all 2007).

The occurrence of bias or false decisions made by

the referee occurs due to several factors can be

intentional or unintentional and the decision is based

on the influence of within the self or influence from

outside. There are several factors according to the

author of the background of the referee's decision that

physical condition, psychological, and understanding

the rules of the game.

Decision Making of Football Referee and Assistant Referee in Liga 1 Indonesia

437

3.2.1 Physical Condition

This first aspect is an obligation for a referee and an

assistant referee before they will be on duty. They

must pass a physical test before the competition, if

they do not pass the physical test then they are not

allowed to lead a match. In the Indonesian league, any

referee who will be involved in the competition must

follow referees conducted by PSSI, every referee

must follow the activity if they want to serve in

League 1 Indonesia. The function of physical ability

itself in the performance of the referee is that the

referee must always move in the game and strive to

always close to the event so that the decision given

will be accurate, besides the referee and the assistant

referee must always move in a match following the

game and asked not far from the incident. (Mallo,

Navarro, Garcia-Aranda, and Helsen, 2009). The

referee must find the right point of view to decide an

event, so the referee must be strived to move if his

position is obstructed. For the assistant referee in the

offside determination, the assistant referee must have

a good point of view between parallel to the last two

defenders, following where the ball will be played,

where the starting position of the attacker will touch

the ball and where the ball will be played (Catteeuw

et al: 2010). In the author's observation of the position

of the referee in every decision, especially when the

counterattack is very far from the event that resulted

in the decision becomes doubt. In addition to the

assistant referee is often left behind or not aligned

with the last two defenders, although the decision is

true, and the assistant referee who was too hasty in

deciding an event, but who will control the ball is a

player who is not in an offside position. This becomes

an issue that must be fixed by Indonesian football

organizations.

3.2.2 Psychological

In psychological terms it is associated with a threat to

referees that occur before, during, and after the game.

In this case the threat that is often experienced by

football referees in Indonesia is the presence of a

pressure from the audience, players, and official. A

referee who has experienced a threat will affect

psychological, concentration, performance, and

motivation so that the decisions taken will be

inaccurate. (Coakley, 1994). A threat or pressure

experienced by the referee is divided into two forms:

physical and verbal, (Folkesson, Nyberg, Archer, and

Norlander, 2002). Many improvements made by PSSI

and the opponents of the New Indonesia league to

anticipate the threat factor made by players, coaches,

managers, and also the audience to referees and

assistant referees, namely by issuing strict rules on

threats to referees, the result is in Liga 1 Indonesia

decreasing the level of physical threats made by

players, coaches, official and spectators to the referee.

But verbal threats are still often experienced by

referees, both from players, coaches, and spectators.

In addition to the existence of an external threat, the

motivation in the self affects the referee itself, a

referee who has his own desire to become a referee

will have better self-control, compared to the referee

who is motivated because of their economic factors

will be forced in duty and will even affect its

performance (Dohmen, 2008).

Understanding the rules of the game is a must for

a referee, how an umpire will decide a problem if he

does not control the rules. Football rules every year

there is always a change, so referees and assistant

referees should always update the latest regulations.

Regarding this understanding, not only the referee

who must master, but the coach, players, spectators

must master and know the rules that apply, so that

there will be mutual respect between professions. One

study says that the understanding of the rules of game

players, coaches, spectators, media and related

components of football is very low (Gilis, B., Helsen,

W., Catteeuw, P., Van Roie, E., and Wagemans, J.

2009 ).

4 CONCLUSIONS

From the results of the research that has been done, it

can be concluded that the decision of the referee in

leading football match in Liga 1 Indonesia on article

12 or violation and unsportsmanlike behavior has a

relatively small bias value, while the assistant referee

on article 11 or offside obtained the very low score of

bias.

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