Comparing the Aerobic Fitness of Professional Male Soccer Players and Soccer Referees

We looked to compare the aerobic performance between professional soccer referees and players. Fifty male soccer referees and 61 male soccer players were tested on a treadmill. The referees and players possessed 15 ± 7 years and 7 ± 3 years of experience in soccer, respectively. Significant differences were observed between the referees and players with regards to: age (34.8 ± 4.6 years vs 20.8 ± 2.7 years; P < 0.001, maximum oxygen uptake (54.7 ± 5.4 mL·kg·min vs 58.8 ± 4.4 mL·kg·min; P < 0.001), and maximal heart rate in peak exercise (184 ± 11 bpm vs 192 ± 9 bpm, P < 0.001). Less significant differences also were observed and included; running speed at the maximum oxygen uptake (16.6 ± 1 km·h vs 16.4 ± 1.1 km·h), running speed at the ventilatory threshold (213.5 ± 1.1 km·h vs 13.2 ± 0.9 km·h), and percentage of maximal oxygen uptake at the ventilatory threshold (285.1% ± 3.2% vs 84.1% ± 6.2%). The effect size of most comparative variables between the two groups was small (