Referee and Match Official Research Network
The Referee and Match Official Research Network is designed to bring together academics and others interested in the development and associated research concerning the match official within a variety of sports. The network aims to bring together scholars, policy makers and interested parties from a variety of disciplines in order to develop a greater understanding of the experience, operational climate, and coordination of match officials within national organisations and across transnational boundaries.
The lead academic of this research group is Dr Tom Webb. Please see Tom's profile page for further details and his Pure Profile for publications.
Three themes
- Working environment and operation conditions for match officials.
- Development and performance across organisational and societal cultures.
- Leadership, management and coordination of match officials.
Our members
Media ready expert
Dr Thomas Webb
- Email Address Thomas.Webb@port.ac.uk
- Department School of Sport Health and Exercise Science
- Faculty Faculty of Science and Health
Professor Richard Thelwell
- Email Address Richard.Thelwell@port.ac.uk
- Department School of Sport Health and Exercise Science
- Faculty Faculty of Science and Health
Dr Mike Rayner
- Email Address Mike.Rayner@port.ac.uk
- Department School of Sport Health and Exercise Science
- Faculty Faculty of Science and Health
Dr Chris Wagstaff
- Email Address Chris.Wagstaff@port.ac.uk
- Department School of Sport Health and Exercise Science
- Faculty Faculty of Science and Health
Dr Matt Dicks
- Email Address Matt.Dicks@port.ac.uk
- Department School of Sport Health and Exercise Science
- Faculty Faculty of Science and Health
Professor Barry Smart
- Job Title Professor of Sociology
- Email Address Barry.Smart@port.ac.uk
- Department School of Education and Sociology
- Faculty Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Dr Adam Cox
- Job Title Principal Lecturer
- Email Address Adam.Cox@port.ac.uk
- Department Economics and Finance
- Faculty Faculty of Business and Law
Dr Paul Gorczynski
- Email Address paul.gorczynski@port.ac.uk
- Department School of Sport Health and Exercise Science
- Faculty Faculty of Science and Health
Collaborators
- Dr Jamie Cleland – University of South Australia
- Dr Jimmy O’Gorman – Edge Hill University
- Dr Matt Smith – University of Chichester
- Manuel Armenteros - University Carlos III of Madrid, Department of Journalism and Audiovisual Communication
- Dr Géraldine Rix-Lievre - Blaise Pascal University
- João Aragão e Pina - University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE)
- Dr Mohsen Loghmani - Shafagh Institute of higher Education, Iran
- Dr Denise Hill - Swansea University
Research students
- Dane White - MPhil/PhD - When is an advantage an advantage? Referees and the use of the advantage in association football, analysing the impact of probability
- Lee Markham - MRes - Talent Identification and Development of Football Referees
- Chris Horton - MPhil/PhD - Modelling Umpire Development in Grass-roots Field Hockey
Industry contacts
- Hampshire Football Association
- Rugby Football Union (RFU)
- French Football Federation (FFF)
- Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB)
- The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)
- The Football Association (FA)
- The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)
Book in preparation
Webb, T., Cleland, J., O’Gorman, J. & Rayner, M. (Due 2019). Referees, match officials and abuse: Research and Implications for Policy. London: Routledge.
Recent publications
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An explorative case study of referee abuse in English rugby league
An explorative case study of referee abuse in English rugby league - Journal of Applied Sport Management, 10:2, doi: 10.18666/JASM-2017-V10-12-8834, (2018), Tom Webb, Mike Rayner, Richard Thelwell.
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Book review: Spanish football and social change: Sociological Investigations
Book review: Spanish football and social change: Sociological Investigations - The International Journal of History of Sport, 34:3-4, 295-296, doi: 10.1080/09523367.2017.1362539, (2017), Tom Webb.
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Respect? An investigation into the experience of referees in association football
Respect? An investigation into the experience of referees in association football - The International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 53:8, doi: 10.1177/1012690216687979, (2017), Jamie Cleland, Jimmy O'Gorman, Thomas Webb.
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Improved training of football referees and the decline in home advantage
Improved training of football referees and the decline in home advantage post WW2 - Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14:2, 220-227, doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2012.11.001, (2013), A. Nevill, Thomas Webb, A. Watts.
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The occurrence of referee abuse in rugby union
The occurrence of referee abuse in rugby union: evidence and measures through an online survey - The International Journal of Sports Management, Recreation and Tourisim, 21:d, doi: 10.5199/ijsmart-1791-874X-21d, (2016), Mike Rayner, Thomas Webb, Hayley Webb.
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The emergence of training and assessment for referees in Association Football
The emergence of training and assessment for referees in Association Football: moving from the side-lines - The International Journal of the History of Sport, 31:9, 1081-1097, doi: 10.1080/09523367.2014.905545, (2014), Thomas Webb.
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Elite refereeing structures in England
Elite refereeing structures in England: a perfect model or a challenging invention? - Soccer & Society, 18:1, 47-62, doi: 10.1080/14660970.2014.980740, (2014), Thomas Webb.
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Cultural comparisons of elite referee responses to reduced player behaviour in Association Football
"He's taken a Dive": cultural comparisons of elite referee responses to reduced player behaviour in Association Football; - Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal, 5:3, 242-258, doi: 10.1108/SBM-04-2014-0019, (2015), Thomas Webb, Richard Thelwell.
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Sportsmanship from a referee's perspective
Sportsmanship from a referee's perspective: a case study of four sports - Sportsmanship: Multi-disciplinary Perspectives, 162-172, (2016), Thomas Webb, Mike Rayner.
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Referees and the media: a difficult relationship but an unavoidable necessity - Soccer & Society, 205-221, doi: 10.1080/14660970.2015.1133414, (2016), Thomas Webb.
Conference presentations
Webb, T. (2017). North American Society for Sports Management. Oral presentation. Violence in the workplace? Analysing soccer referee experiences and abuse through a longitudinal lens.
Sport and Social Justice (Political Studies Association). Oral presentation.
Cultural Leadership of Elite Association Football Referees. (2016).
North American Society for Sports History. Oral presentation.
A Career in Football Refereeing: W. P. Harper and the Beginnings of Mass Media Attention. (2015).
First International Conference on the Science and Practice of Sports Refereeing. Oral presentation. (2014).
Standardising Elite Association Football Refereeing: An Historic Problem, no Easy Solution
North American Society for Sports History. Oral presentation.
"The official game": the connected emergence of the referee in association football, rugby union and American football. (2014).
European Sociological Association. PhD conference and workshop. Fully funded application process.
"Open your eyes ref!" Can the old clichés be discarded? Elite association football refereeing: a comparative analysis of England and Spain. (2011).
North American Society for Sports History. Oral presentation.
"Under pressure": Elite association football referee responses to systemic and structural changes. (2011).
Invited presentations
- Manchester Metropolitan University. Research Presentation. (22/06/17).
- Blackburn Rovers Football Club. (27/02/2015).
- University of Caen. Research Symposium. (23/05/2016).
- University of Chichester. Research Presentation. (14/10/16).
Public media engagement
BBC 5 Live Daily (23/12/2016) – Invited contribution to programme on football referee abuse
BBC Sport Website (06/11/2016) – Report on research
BBC 5 Live Investigates (06/11/2016). - Contribution to programme on research related to Umpire Experiences and Abuse in cricket
Skysports (06/11/2016) – Report on research
The Telegraph (06/11/2016) – Report on research
BBC World Service, World Football Show (22/01/2016) – Guest on Programme: Discussion of research
Daily Mail (2016) Report on research
BBC Hereford & Worcester (25/01/2016) - Discussion of research
ITV.com (2016) – Report on research
BT.com (2016) – Report on research
Yahoo.com (2016) – Report on research
BBC Radio Lincolnshire, (22/01/2016) - Guest interview about research
BBC South Today (24/01/2016) – Live discussion of my research about football referees.
BBC 5 Live Investigates (06/12/2015). - Contribution to programme on research related to Referee Abuse in football and the Respect campaign
Times Higher (2015) - Survey into abuse of football referees, conducted by Dr Tom Webb for UoP in conjunction with Edge Hill and Loughborough Universities, featured in an article
BBC Radio Solent (07/12/2015) – Guest interview
The Telegraph (21/03/16) – Report using the research
The Telegraph (22/03/16) – Report using the research
The Telegraph (22/03/16) – Report using the research
The Telegraph (20/07/16) – Report using the research
The Telegraph (21/07/16) – Report using the research
The Times (24/02/2015) - Contribution to article about football refereeing and media pressure.