Investigation of the workload of football referees during the competition according to league level

The aim of this study is to determine the workload of football referees according to the league level. For this purpose, a total of 31 male football referees (age: 25,34,4 years; height: 183,94,5 cm; body weight: 79,66,9 kg) participated in the study voluntarily. Heart rate (HR) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) data were collected from football referees in 2nd Amateur Cluster and 2nd U19 Amateur League competitions. Yo-Yo Test was applied to the referees to determine the maximum heart rate (KAHmax), HR values obtained from competitions were calculated as %HRmax and used in the analyzes. The running distance of the referees from the Yo-Yo test is 1125,2415,9 m; maximum oxygen uptake values were found to be 40,65,8 ml/kg/min. The %HRmax values of the 1st and 2nd half of the 2nd amateur cluster competitions were 80,55,1% and 79,96,2%, respectively; The mean RPE values were 11.4112.8 and 11.33.4, respectively. The %HRmax values for the 1st and 2nd half of 2.U19 Amateur League competitions were 80,07,2% and 79,37,4%; The mean RPE values were found to be 11,32,8 and 11,63,1 respectively. The average %HRmax values of the referees managed by the 2nd Amateur Cluster and 2.U19 Amateur League were 80,25,4% and 79,77,1%, respectively; mean RPE values were 11,32,7 and 11,52,3 respectively. In the statistical analysis, % HRmax and RPE values were found to be similar both in the comparison of the halfes of the matches and in the comparison according to the leagues (p>0.05). As a result; Although the league levels of football referees were different, their work load (HR and RPE) did not differ significantly. Keywords: Football, Football Referee, Ratings of Perceived Exertion, Heart Rate