Prediction and Situational Option Generation in Soccer

Paul Ward, Michigan Technological University Naturalistic models of decision making, such as the Recognition- Primed Decision (RPD) model (e.g., Klein, Calderwood, & Clinton-Cirocco, 1986; Klein, 1997), suggest that as individuals become more experienced within a domain they automatically recognize situational patterns as familiar which, in turn, activates an associated situational response. Typically, this results in a workable course of action being generated first, and subsequent options generated only if the initial option proves ineffective

Development of a database and decision support system for performance evaluation of soccer players

In this study, we investigate the general parameters to evaluate the performance of soccer players and develop a database for performance evaluation of soccer players and a relevant decision support system (DSS) to help people such as technical director. In the proposed DSS, the data is collected by Data Collectors by using a proposed database. It helps the technical director to realize the performances of soccer players quickly with real-time during games

A query description model based on basic semantic unit composite Petri-Net for soccer video

Digital video networks are making available increasing amounts of sports video data. The volume of material on offer means that sports fans often rely on prepared summaries of game highlights to follow the progress of their favourite teams. A significant application area for automated video analysis technology is the generation of personalized highlights of sports events. One of the most popular sports around world is soccer. A soccer game is composed of a range of significant events, such as goal scoring, fouls, and substitutions. Automatically detecting these events in a soccer video can enable users to interactively design their own highlights programmes. From an analysis of broadcast soccer video, we propose a query description model based on Basic Semantic Unit Composite Petri-Nets (BSUCPN) to automatically detect significant events within soccer video. Firstly we define a Basic Semantic Unit (BSU) set for soccer videos based on identifiable feature elements within a soccer video, Secondly we design Composite Petri-Net (CPN) models for semantic queries and use these to describe BSUCPNs for semantic events in soccer videos. A particular strength of this approach is that users are able to design their own semantic event queries based on BSUCPNs to search interactively within soccer videos. Experimental results based on recorded soccer broadcasts are used to illustrate the potential of this approach

Activity profile of top-class female soccer refereeing in relation to the position of the ball

The aim of this study was to describe the activity profile of top-class female soccer referees during competition and to relate it to the position of the ball. Ten matches from the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) under-20 female World Championships held in Russia in 2006 were filmed and the kinematical parameters of the female referees (n = 10) and the ball were determined using a two-dimensional photogrammetric video system based on direct linear transformation (DLT) algorithms. Total distance covered during a match was 10 km, of which 1.3 km represented high-intensity activities (>13 km/h). The referees’ highest mobility was achieved in the initial 15 min of the match, covering greater distance and performing more intense exercise (P < 0.01) than in the final 15-min of the game. Mean distance from the referee to the ball was 19.5 ± 2.4 m, with no significant differences between 15 min match periods. The results of this study show that: (1) the physical demands placed on top-class female referees are much like those experienced during male moderate-standard refereeing and (2) the referees were able to maintain the distance from the ball throughout the matc

Time Motion Analysis of Women\u27s Collegiate Indoor Volleyball

A better understanding of the demands of a sport can be determined by identifying work-to-rest ratios and frequency of high-intensity movements, but limited research has been on indoor volleyball. Video footage of two matches for a mid-level NCAA Division I women\u27s indoor volleyball team was analyzed using time motion analysis. Rally durations (mean of 7.6s), the rest times (mean of 18.8s), and the number of high-intensity movements (total of 1507) were recorded. The outside hitters, middle blockers, and setter performed the greatest number of HIM per rally with means of 0.78, 0.96 and 0.98 respectively and mean HIM/s of 0.031, 0.037, and 0.038 respectively. Total work and total time were calculated, 48.3 minutes and 166.5 minutes respectively. Therefore, the ball was only in play 29.0% of total time. The overall work-to-rest ratio was 0.40:1

The Italian Job: Match Rigging, Career Concerns and Media Concentration in Serie A

This paper contributes to the literature on competition and corruption, by drawing on records from Calciopoli, a judicial inquiry carried out in 2006 on corruption in the Italian soccer league. Unlike previous studies, we can estimate the determinants of match rigging and use this information in identifying corruption episodes in years in which there are no pending judicial inquiries. We find evidence of corruption activity well before Calciopoli. Career concerns of referees seem to play a major role in match rigging. An implication of our study is that a more transparent selection of the referees and evaluation of their performance is essential in removing incentives to match rigging. Another implication is that in presence of significant "winners-take-all" effects, more competitive balance may increase corruption unless media concentration is also significantly reduced.concentration, corruption, career concerns, random effect ordered probit, Monte Carlo simulations, soccer

Are Subjective Evaluations Biased by Social Factors or Connections? An Econometric Analysis of Soccer Referee Decisions

Many incentive contracts are based on subjective evaluations and contractual disputes depend on judges’ decisions. However, subjective evaluations raise risks of favouritism and distortions. Sport contests are a fruitful field for testing empirically theories of incentives. In this paper the behaviour of the referees in the Italian soccer (football) league (“Serie A”) is analyzed. Using data on injury (or extra) time subjectively assigned by the referee at the end of the match and controlling for factors which may influence it (players substitutions, yellow and red cards, penalty kicks, etc.), we show that referees are biased in favour of home team, in that injury time is significantly greater if home teams are losing. The refereeing bias increases greatly when there is no running track in the stadium and the crowd is close to the pitch. Following the 2006 “Serie A” scandal we test whether favouritism emerges towards teams suspected of connections with referees finding that these teams obtain favourable decisions. Social pressure by the crowd attending the match however appears to be the main cause of favouritism.Favoritism, Subjective evaluation; Sport economics; Soccer; Referee bias;

Physiological and Movement Demands of Rugby League Referees: Influence on Penalty Accuracy.

Research into the physiological and movement demands of Rugby League (RL) referees is limited, with only one study in the European Super League (SL). To date, no studies have considered decision-making in RL referees. The purpose of this study was to quantify penalty accuracy scores of RL referees and determine the relationship between penalty accuracy and total distance covered (TD), high-intensity running (HIR) and heart rate per 10-min period of match-play. Time motion analysis was undertaken on 8 referees over 148 European SL games during the 2012 season using 10Hz GPS analysis and heart rate monitors. The number and timing of penalties awarded was quantified using Opta Stats. Referees awarded the correct decision on 74 ± 5% of occasions. Lowest accuracy was observed in the last 10-minute period of the game (67 ± 13%), with a moderate drop (ES= 0.86) in accuracy observed between 60-70 minutes and 70-80 minutes. Despite this, there were only small correlations observed between HRmean, total distance, HIR efforts and penalty accuracy. Although a moderate correlation was observed between maximum velocity and accuracy. Despite only small correlations observed, it would be rash to assume that physiological and movement demands of refereeing have no influence on decision-making. More likely, other confounding variables influence referee decision-making accuracy, requiring further investigation. Findings can be used by referees and coaches to inform training protocols, ensuring training is specific to both cognitive and physical match demands