Understanding mental toughness in elite football officiating: Perceptions of English Premier League referees

The purpose of the present study was to gain a detailed understanding of Mental Toughness (MT) in the context of elite football officiating. Competition-specific and off-field situations perceived to require MT as well as corresponding behaviours and cognitions utilised by mentally tough referees were identified. Fifteen English Premier League (EPL) referees were individually interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Through inductive and deductive content analysis, 70 situations converged into five higher-order themes: (a) pre-match situations, (b) during-match situations, (c) post-match situations, (d) general elite refereeing situations, and (e) general-life situations. Throughout emerging themes, a multifunctional set of adaptive patterns of behaviour (e.g., act as a barrier between players, looking calm and composed) and cognitive strategies (e.g., draw upon life experiences, awareness of players' emotions) were outlined. Theoretical and applied implications for sport psychology practitioners and researchers operating in the area of MT are discussed.

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