Psychology generally means the study of behaviour and mental process.
Behaviour can be described as observed movement, speech and also personality mannerisms, whereas Mental Process can be noticed in abstract thought, memories, emotions etc and so when we talk about psychology of refereeing we refer to the action of the referee after he has read the mind of a player before, during and after a particular match.
And most often, when Referee Assessors and Match Commissioners think of a referee’s psychology they mean the influences on the referee himself that may lead him to behave in a particular manner or take a decision during a given match.
The following factors, among others, can affect the referee’s psychology:
• Knowledge and grasp of the laws of the game;
• The size of the spectators
• The composition of the spectators, i.e. they may be males only or females only or both genders. The spectators may include the Head of State or the president of the GFA, its executive committee members or members of the FA, referees committee or any other dignitaries.
• Influence of the home crowd
• The distance of the crowd from the referee
• The referee’s own experience, not only the number of the years of refereeing or his age, but also his exposure and work rate
• The health and fitness condition of the referee.
There is no doubt that the basic factor or requirement for a referee to successfully or otherwise handle any match is his knowledge of the laws of the game. Added to his knowledge is his ability to correctly interpret the laws and apply them.
Spectators
The factor of the size and composition of spectators can also determine how well a referee handles his match even though he may be a master of the laws and regulations that govern the match.
Whereas some referees would decide to be more careful and particular with their decisions during and after their matches, because of the presence of some influential national personnel during their matches, a few rather fail to take correct decisions and even resort to panicking or become rather confused in taking certain decisions.
Perhaps my own mistake in 1984 when I handled a local derby between Cape Coast Dwarfs and Vipers would explain this point. During the course of the match, I was heavily assaulted by one of the teams after I had taken a particular decision. Indeed, part of my shirt was torn and I was really shaken as a result of the assault. Among the spectators were the then Regional Secretary (Minister), the then Chairman of the GFA, the Omanhene of the Oguaa Traditional Area and some very notable persons from and around Cape Coast.
Added to this was the fact that, although the match was one of the season’s then First Division (now Premier League) matches, it was also played to mark the inauguration of a renovated and refurbished Cape Coast Stadium. The stadium was filled over its capacity. The Match Commissioner drew my attention to these facts and urged me on to continue with the match. I obliged.
That should not have been the case. I was the referee in charge of the match and I should have ignored his politics and ended the match. In the end, the match ended zero-zero to the joy of both players and spectators. Meanwhile, if I had ended the match because of the incident, both clubs would not have shared the points. The club whose players assaulted me would have been declared losers with all the three points going to their opponents.
Naturally, the size and composition of the spectators affected my psychology and behaviour. Too bad.
Home crowd factor
Again the factor of the influence of home crowd, especially if its distance from the referee is very close, may also affect the performance of some referees, especially Ghanaian referees, who handle matches at certain parks that are called and accepted as stadia.
Our GFA/PLB insists on the putting in place what they term as inner perimeter. But in some cases, some of them are so close to the field of play that they become less effective.
At such stadia, some unruly fans especially home spectators, find it very easy to harass match officials through verbal insults and the throwing of all sorts of missiles. An official of a team in the northern part of our country once joked to me that one of the reasons for the low performance and subsequent relegation of his team was the building and use of the new stadium for the team.
He said with the new stadium, the referee became too far away from the spectators, (the home crowd) who were not near enough to the match officials.
A referee’s experience in terms of the number of refereeing years, his exposure and his level of hard work are also important factors that can affect his psychology and performance.
There are some referees who are rushed into certain matches that they have not matured enough to handle. Refereeing is a step by step job with which experience is gained through regular exposure, hard training and work. That is why it has got so many grading levels, training and practicals.
State of health
The last factor for building and acquiring the requisite psychology and mental toughness depends on the state of health of the individual referee. Refereeing is both a mental and physical undertaking. It is therefore important that he should be in good health and physical condition always.
Another important factor is the development of a referee’s psychological skills. Some of the ways that he can train these Psychological skills include:
1. Relaxation
The referee needs to rest well before his match. This should be achieved by arriving at his match venue early enough.
2. Visualization
It is helpful to play or visualize the game before it is played. The referee should see himself running well, blowing his whistle or flagging well ahead of the actual game. He should have a fair knowledge of the teams that would be playing. This will help to put him in a good frame of mind.
3. Psyching up
It is necessary for a referee to always psych up himself by saying ‘‘I will succeed and not fail’’. “I can do it and must perform well”. However, he should at the same time be careful and should not overdo this, otherwise, it can also generate some undue performance pressure.
4. Thought control
It is important that negative thoughts of past matches are not allowed to linger on a referee’s mind as they could have adverse effects on his emotions and thus performances. Every match has its own challenges. It is therefore useful to go into each match in a relaxed but focus mind.
