Investigation of male football players' match experiences of female referees in terms of gender

In this study, it was aimed to reveal the match experiences of male soccer players with female referees and to examine these experiences in terms of gender. Phenomenology (Phenomenology) design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the research. The study group of the research consists of male football players actively playing football in amateur leagues organized by the Turkish Football Federation in the 2022-2023 season. The data of the research were collected with a semi-structured interview form. The data obtained within the scope of the research were analyzed using content analysis method. After the analysis of the data, the match experiences of male football players with female referees were handled under 3 themes: "experiences about the characteristics of female referees", "experiences of male football players about their own behaviors" and "experiences of female referees about match management styles and match atmosphere". As a result, it has been seen in the literature that although biological sex and social gender have an effect on male soccer players' experiences of female referees, female referees have similar experiences in the refereeing process.