Visual scan patterns and decision-making skills of expert assistant referees in offside situations

The offside decision-making process of international and national assistant referees (ARs) was evaluated using video simulations. A Tobii T120 Eye Tracker was used to record the eye movements. Two hypotheses for explaining incorrect decisions were investigated, namely, the flash-lag effect and the shift of gaze. Performance differences between skill levels were also examined. First, results showed a bias toward flag errors for national ARs as expected by the flash-lag effect. Second, ARs fixated the offside line before, during, and after the precise moment the pass was given, implying there was no shift of gaze from the passer to the receiving attacker. Third, no differences were found in scan patterns between international and national ARs. In conclusion, international ARs seem to have found a strategy to better deal with the perceptual illusion resulting from the flash-lag effect. Based on their experience, they have learned to correct for this illusion, and, consequently, show fewer flag errors.