Factors relating to the decision-making performance of Australian football officials

Team sport officials are charged with the responsibility to enforce the laws of the game and their performance is based upon the quality of their decisions during a match. The current investigation examined the effects of positioning and retrospective physical demands had on the decision-making accuracy of Australian football officials. Match decision-making statistics and time motion data from 20 elite Australian football matches and the factors related to improved decision-making during match play were examined. Most decisions were made from a distance between 11-15 m, however distance from play had no significant effect on accuracy. There was no significant effect of movement velocity at the time of a decision on accuracy. There was a significant (P<0.05) difference between correct and incorrect decisions in the running speed across the 5 s prior to the decision being made. These findings determine that there is no effect of distance from play or instantaneous velocity on decision-making accuracy during match play. However, higher relative running speeds prior to a decision increases the likelihood of a decisional error. Superior anticipatory skill may reduce the running demands immediately prior to a decision, and therefore possibly improve the decision-making accuracy of umpires.