The Effect of a Competitive Futsal Match on Psychomotor Vigilance in Referees

Purpose: Referees’ physical and cognitive performance are important for successful officiating in team sports. There is a lack of research on cognitive performance in referees in general, and none in Futsal. The aim of the present study was to assess referees’ performance on the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) before and after competitive Futsal matches during the FA National Futsal League 2015/16. Methods: Fourteen Futsal referees (mean ± SD: age 34.3 ± 10.0 years) from the FA National Futsal Group were included. The referees were required to undertake a 10-minute PVT at 60 minute before the match kick-off time (pre-test) and immediately after matches (post-test). They also completed the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) questionnaire before the pre-match PVT and after the post-match PVT. Result: Data were analysed by paired t-tests comparing pre- and post-match results. There was a significant difference in BRUMS parameters vigour (9.5 ± 2.5 pre- vs 6.3 ± 2.4 post-match, p = 0.001) and fatigue (1.4 ± 1.3 pre- vs 5.6 ± 3.1 post-match, p < 0.001). However, PVT performance was significantly improved (mean reaction time 248.3 ± 26.2 ms pre- vs 239.7 ± 22.4 ms post-match, p = 0.023). Conclusions: The present results show, contrary to our initial hypothesis, that psychomotor performance is improved as opposed to decreased after a single match. The post-match improvement suggests that exercise can acutely enhance cognitive performance, which could be used to inform warm-up practices (e.g. optimal duration and intensity) geared towards optimising cognitive performance of referees during matches.