Abstract

Being a referee in a sports competition requires not only certain physical abilities, and knowledge of the rules of the game, but also a psychological efficiency, an ability to put on a successful performance during the game. This study was conducted with 272 football city referees working under the rubric of the Turkish Football Federation, who were selected by means of random sampling in order to evaluate the factors that influence their burn-out levels according to some demographical variables.  According to the results of the study, marital status, referee age and crowd jeers, age, educational status, the importance of income, being happy to be a referee and the importance level of the match were found to be determiners of burn-out levels of referees, and some statistically significant differences were acquired. In this sense, the sharing of knowledge by experienced colleagues with novice referees and the provision of necessary support may be beneficial in terms of determining possible and appropriate ways of dealing with long-term problems and thanks to the presence of psychology experts within the organization.

Key words: Football city referees, burn-out, decision-making, sport management, personal achievement