Vision in high-level football officials

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Sports Science
• Vision Science

Background:

• Adequate visual function is crucial for football officiating, yet no specific vision standards exist.
• The relationship between visual acuity and officiating performance remains largely uncharacterized.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the clinically measured vision and perceived visual status of elite Portuguese football officials.
• To establish a baseline understanding of vision in this population for future performance correlation.

Main Methods:

• Surveyed 71 elite referees and assistant referees on visual history and perceived vision using PVVS and QoV questionnaires.
• Conducted standard clinical vision tests (visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, stereopsis) on a subset of 44 participants.
• Analyzed data by official type (referee/assistant referee) and level (international/national), applying Bonferroni corrections (p<0.01).

Main Results:

• No significant differences in perceived vision (PVVS, QoV) between referees and assistant referees, or between national and international levels.
• International-level officials reported less severe vision-related symptoms than national-level counterparts (p<0.01).
• Clinical vision measures were comparable to normative adult values and did not differ by officiating level; approximately 25% could improve visual acuity with pinhole correction.

Conclusions:

• Elite football officials exhibit clinically normal vision, with no significant differences based on role or international status.
• A notable proportion of officials may have uncorrected refractive errors that could be addressed through regular eye examinations.
• Further research is needed to determine the impact of uncorrected refractive error on actual officiating performance.