Andrei Antonie has been a PhD Candidate at the University of Eastern Finland since 2011. His research focuses various aspects of soccer referees’ careers, such as career development and stress factors, as well as on sport policy. Andrei has also been an active soccer referee in the Romanian top tier (Superliga) since 2017 and has participated several times in the Dallas Cup as a referee.

Shamateurism in Romanian Soccer Refereeing: The Path to Professionalization in an Evolving Sports Landscape

ABSTRACT
Purpose: Top-level soccer has become part of the international entertainment industry. The role and status of referees have changed over the last 30 years. The purpose of this study was to (a) analyze the level of referee professionalization in European football and (b) place Romanian refereeing on the sport labor market. Methods: Analytic autoethnography and interactive interviews were the research methods used in this study. I have been refereeing since 2002 and part of the elite refereeing population since 2017. The interactive interviews with the six Romanian elite soccer referees were held in July 2023. Key findings: The results offer evidence that referees’ professional status is influenced by the TV rights dimension, refereeing being a ‘serious leisure’ activity in the leagues with insignificant revenues and being recognized as a profession in the ‘top’ European leagues. The intermediate step is ‘shamateurism’, which also applies to Romanian refereeing. Romanian elite referees have an amateur status, even though they have a professional approach and their refereeing income exceeds the earnings from their regular jobs. Moreover, a significant number of Romanian top-league referees have no regular jobs, or they work for regional soccer associations in order to focus on refereeing. Romanian elite refereeing is characterized by monopsony, due to the relationship between the governing bodies and the referees’ earnings, working conditions, and labor conditions. Conclusion: The findings generally support the idea of interdependence among the domestic league revenues from TV rights contracts, refereeing professionalization status, and the monopsonic character of refereeing.

Key Words: soccer (football), referee, serious leisure, shamateurism, profession, monopsony 

INTRODUCTION
Webb et al. (1) divided soccer (or football) into two social groups: the ‘ingroup’ (i.e., players, coaches, and spectators) is concerned with the result, winning being the primary objective, whereas the ‘outgroup’ (i.e., referees) is only interested in correctly applying the Laws of the Game and ensuring that the game is conducted according to them. Accepting that referees constitute a distinct ‘group’ inside soccer might lead to conflicts with players, coaches, and fans, which could give refereeing a negative image. Although the ‘ingroup’ frequently complains about the quality of today’s refereeing, there is ample evidence to suggest that referees and the quality of officiating are better than in the past. Referees are now in better physical condition, being stronger and faster than their predecessors because of technology, equipment, training facilities, and knowledge of body mechanics. Psychological and tactical preparation has improved referees’ performance in terms of correct decisions and game management.

Changes in soccer in recent decades have led to an explosion in the amount of research on the sport. Also, research on soccer refereeing has recently become an interesting area of scientific research, the most discussed topics being physiological demands, performance (e.g., decision making, mental demands, and stress during matches), and physical demands (e.g., fitness, training, and fatigue). Pina et al. (2) identified 267 studies of refereeing, while Vasilica et al. (3) found in their systematic review that only 381 studies have examined refereeing, with a limited number of researchers (i.e., 20) having published three or more studies.

Few articles address referees’ career trajectories. Antonie (4) developed a career success model for Romanian soccer referees, whereas Loghmani et al. (5) studied the career dynamics of Iranian elite soccer referees. Pina et al. (6) proposed a multidisciplinary skill model for excellent referees covering matters such as individual preparation, game preparation, and game management, whereas Mendes et al. (7) created a general referee performance model for Portuguese referees. Loghmani et al. (8) studied the job characteristics of Iranian soccer referees, focusing on internal psychological factors. Most occupational and professionalization research inside soccer has focused on players, with limited consideration given to referees. Little is known about the socio-economic aspects of refereeing, such as professionalization, labor conditions, and economic stability, due to the insignificant amount of research.

RESEARCH AIMS & METHODS

This study analyses the professionalization of soccer referees at two levels. First, I will review the general trends in the professionalization of refereeing, i.e., how top referees have gradually turned professional in the 2000s, especially in the ‘big European football’ countries. The main research questions are: How has this change occurred? What factors have contributed to this change? What will the situation be in the 2020s? Commercialization has had an impact on soccer in recent decades, and among the biggest impacts has been that of broadcasting, as reflected in TV rights deals. Nowadays, TV rights represent a significant part of league and club revenues, and have also impacted soccer refereeing. Second, I will focus on Romania, as an interesting target for such research because of its tradition and success in soccer, including in terms of refereeing. On the other hand, Romania is not one of the biggest soccer countries in the world or Europe. In any case, a shift is now occurring even in Romania toward the professionalization of referees. I will consider the position of the Romanian top referees between amateurism and professionalism: What is their position, and how do the top referees themselves perceive it?

One theoretical starting point of the analysis is Dunning’s (9) typology and the concept of ‘shamauterism’, which has been practiced in various forms across a variety of sports and countries. His conceptualization emphasized financial aspects, which were divided into legitimate and illegitimate payments, but also focused on athletes, with the referees being ignored in his analysis. Another theoretical perspective is Stebbins’ (10) concept of ‘serious leisure’, recognizing that, from a societal perspective, serious leisure participants are hobbyists, career volunteers, and amateurs. Career volunteers provide services in education, science, and civic affairs, whereas hobbyists and amateurs are common in art, entertainment, and sport. I will also link my analysis of the role of Romanian top referees to the concept of monopsony, as associated with the functioning of the labor market in professional sports. Rosen and Sanderson (11) recognized that Rottenberg was the first researcher to publish a serious economic analysis of labor markets in professional sports in 1956. Some of the topics Rosen and Sanderson discussed were monopsonist exploitation, investments in training, contracts, payments, and the player drafts, as well as their implications, and most of these topics are also applicable to soccer refereeing.

In-depth interviews are a key source material for this study of Romanian referees. The participants in this study were six male Romanian elite soccer referees operating at the highest national and international levels at the time of the interviews. According to the Romanian Football Association, the elite group of Romanian (Superliga) referees for the 2023–2024 season comprises 27 referees (25 male and two female). Before the interviews, the subjects received detailed information about the study. They were guaranteed anonymity, and pseudonyms are used to protect their identity. Because of privacy issues, no other information about the sampling of the selected referees will be disclosed. The interviews were held at the Summer Seminar for Romanian Elite Referees in July 2023. The sampling was done so as to represent the best of the population of Romanian elite soccer referees: two were FIFA referees, another two were Romanian top-league referees with over ten years of experience at the highest level, and the last two were considered ‘talents’, refereeing in the top league but with under five years of experience at this level.

Anderson (p. 375, 12) defined analytic autoethnography as ethnographic work in which “the researcher is (1) a full member in the research group or setting, (2) visible as such a member in the researcher’s published texts and (3) committed to an analytic research agenda focused on improving theoretical understanding of broader social phenomena.” My own refereeing career started in 2002 and I have been a Romanian elite referee (Superliga) since 2017. Therefore, I have not had to deal with any red tape regarding working closely with other elite referees: as part of the elite group, I have established both professional and personal relationships with them. Hughes and Pennington (p. 15, 13) stated that “autoethnographic methods of data collection and analysis are inclusive of many types of qualitative methods, such as reflective journaling, videotaping, interviewing and fieldwork.” As part of the elite referee population, I took part in the referees’ ‘hot topic’ discussions when meeting for courses and for matches. When asked targeted questions in interviews, the interviewees could not lie to me about certain facts and events that I also was privy to but that would have been unknown to an outsider. Their answers revealed confidential details of refereeing activity. The recorded discussions were frank and I was usually treated as a fellow referee and not as a researcher. At the same time, some topics might have been influenced by my subjectivity, just as their subjectivity could also have influenced the interviewees’ answers.

Semi-structured interviews were employed to investigate current referees’ challenges in terms of their occupation, not only in Romania but also around the world, through their life stories and experiences as elite referees. The interviews lasted 30–90 minutes (average, 55 minutes) and were conducted and recorded in the Romanian language. A narrative inquiry was conducted to enable the referees’ job trajectories, in terms of refereeing, to be constructed. Clandinin (p. 10, 14) described narrative inquiry as “an overarching term that encompasses the activities involved in generating, analyzing and re-presenting stories of life experiences.” An interactive in-depth interview protocol was designed to realize these aspects of narrative inquiry. On occasion, the questions were not asked in strict order or in their entirety, because the conversations moved into new and unexpected territory and so produced new information.

In line with Ryba et al. (15), I transcribed the interviews verbatim and then translated them into English. In the follow-up phase of the study, I read and reread the interviews several times. The thematic analysis was conducted based on common codes and comments, which represented the central themes of each interviewee’s narrative. A narrative analysis of form was performed to ensure that the narratives were coherent. Consequently, common discourses emerged from the professional stories of the interviewed referees. The information provided during the interviews about the referees’ employment by different national football associations (FAs) around the world was cross-verified where possible, using online sources or previous studies, to strengthen the reliability. Collecting data on referees’ employment types was challenging due to the limited transparency of the National Referee Committees. There are publicly available data on referee employment only from England, Japan, the USA, Canada, Iran, Belgium, and Mexico.
Being part of the Romanian elite soccer referee group helped me to get closer to the studied phenomenon and basically become part of it, although this could arguably create challenges in terms of validity and reliability. To enhance the validity and reliability of this research, the criterion of trustworthiness was integrated into the research process. In accordance with Merriam and Tisdell (16), two external peer reviewers with experience in soccer refereeing who are aware of the actual situation of Romanian refereeing confirmed that the findings were plausible. Confirmability was achieved by bracketing during the data collection and analysis process, to reduce researcher bias, eliminate preconceptions, and reflect data without prejudgments.

FROM SERIOUS LEISURE TO A PROFESSION IN REFEREEING

FROM SCHOOL MASTERS TO PROFESSIONALS

The role and status of referees have changed over the last 30 years. These changes are part of a wider cultural change in soccer that started in the 1980s, intensified in the following decade, and accelerated in the 2000s. Three major factors underlie these changes. The first is the growth of top-level soccer in particular, marketization, and an increased emphasis on economic factors, as top-level soccer has become part of the international entertainment industry. Second, the role of referees has been affected by major changes in the interpretation of the rules of football since the 1990s. The romantic period of refereeing lasted over 100 years, when referees had well-paid jobs and respected positions in society. The change was brutal as the referees now had to be top athletes due to the increased speed of the game, leading to the implementation of various fitness tests in order to ensure better physically prepared referees. Refereeing specialization also occurred, establishing the difference between referees and assistant referees. In short, these changes have increased the powers of referees, but also their responsibilities on the pitch. Third, the role of referees has changed in the 2000s with the introduction of technical equipment, the best-known examples being the video assistant referee (VAR) and goal-line technologies.

CURRENT REFEREEING PROFESSIONALIZATION LEVEL IN EUROPE

In recent decades, European domestic soccer competitions have grown notably as a commercial product in economic terms. One reason for this has been the continuous increase in the amounts paid for TV rights by broadcasters. The continuous growth of soccer as a commercial product has involved the greater professionalization of all actors involved in the industry, from management to coaches and players. Consequently, refereeing could not be excluded from this natural development. In 2017, Italian Serie A was the first domestic league that implemented VAR. This was one of the most significant changes in soccer and refereeing, and influenced the career paths of match officials. Samuel et al. (17) showed that VAR’s implementation changed the career prospects of Israeli elite referees. FAs across Europe have implemented VAR in the vast majority of top leagues in under ten years, which not only required financial investment in the technology, but also involved the appointment of a larger number of referees. Thus, the National Referee Committee has had to find strategies to attract referees and to determine the most suitable financial compensation.

Table 1 European Top Leagues’ Total Revenue and Domestic TV Rights

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) (18) has released the financial data for all European domestic leagues for the 2023–2024 season. Table 1 presents the financial results of 52 out of 55 European domestic leagues (Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus are excluded from the analysis, because their data are influenced by current political conditions). The following analysis determines whether there are any links among league revenue, domestic TV rights, and VAR implementation (marked in bold and italics in Table 1), as well as the referees’ professionalization level in European countries.

REFEREEING AS SERIOUS LEISURE

The UEFA has divided the European football leagues into three groups based on their revenues. The analysis starts from the lowest leagues (i.e., the top 36–52), which have annual revenues under EUR 20 million. Eleven national leagues in this group have no TV rights income, while six others receive under EUR 0.5 million. A similar pattern applies to VAR implementation, as only six leagues in this group have benefited from it; interestingly, these six leagues are not the same six in this group that earn the most from TV rights.

The middle group of leagues (i.e., the top 21–35) are the ones with total revenues of EUR 20–100 million. Ten out of 15 of these leagues benefit from TV rights and, as can be noted, five leagues do not. Only one league in this group that sells TV right earns under EUR 1 million from doing so. Six of the leagues in this group earn EUR 1–10 million and the Cyprus league earns over EUR 15 million from selling TV rights. The only league earning over EUR 20 million from TV rights is the Romanian league. In terms of VAR implementation, 12 out of 15 leagues use VAR on a regular basis.

Based on the data on these two groups, 18 out of 33 leagues use VAR. In terms of TV rights, 16 out of these 33 leagues benefit economically from selling these rights, but only two receive more than EUR 10 million from doing so. As a consequence of the minimal professionalization of these leagues, refereeing is also affected. In these leagues, referees receive match fees and additional costs for travel and accommodation. In these conditions, refereeing cannot be considered more than ‘serious leisure’, as defined by Stebbins (p. 23, 10). ‘Serious leisure’ is “the systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or volunteer activity sufficiently substantial and interesting for the participant to find a career there in the acquisition and the expression of a combination of its special skills, knowledge, and experience.” Johansen (19) concluded that Norwegian elite referees officiate because of their passion for the game and for social reasons, whereas their economic benefits are negligible, because the match fees have hardly any impact on their monthly income. Moreover, the financial unpredictability of refereeing was demonstrated by Voight (20), who revealed that one of the most important stress factors for US referees is the conflict between officiating and work demands, whereas the overall performance of Turkish referees is affected by their income (21). Voight’s research is partially supported by Gillue et al. (22), who studied stress factors among Spanish referees, finding that work and family demands were among the most important stress factors outside of matches. Rullang et al. (23) revealed that two of the key factors explaining why German referees end their careers are related to professional considerations and insufficient compensation. Their study was supported by Choi and Chui (24), who described how South Korean referees quit or leave their careers before becoming highly qualified due to financial reasons. Although the above-cited studies were conducted in countries other than those previously mentioned in this section, they might well be relevant, assuming that they treat familiar topics associated with serious leisure. It is common for financial, work, and family reasons to affect the elite referees in these countries. Hence, refereeing remains a ‘serious leisure’ activity as long as elite referees have other jobs and an amateur status in soccer in these countries, and no forms of refereeing employment are identified.

REFEREEING AS A PROFESSION

The European Top 20 leagues are among the most important ones worldwide and have annual revenues of EUR 100 million–7.1 billion, with greater total revenues associated with more valuable TV rights. In this group, only Czechia earns under EUR 10 million from TV rights, while the majority (13 out of 20) earn between EUR 20 million and EUR 100 million. The French and Portuguese leagues earn between EUR 180 million and EUR 500 million from their TV rights, whereas the broadcasters pay between EUR 1 billion and EUR 3.2 billion for the English, Spanish, German, and Italian league TV rights. In these leagues, soccer is a business, having a high degree of professionalization at all levels. The VAR implementation in 19 out of 20 of these leagues was a natural consequence of soccer development. There is one exception, however: Swedish fans own over 50% of each club’s shares, and they blocked VAR implementation in their league, considering that technological intervention would destroy the drama of the game.

Refereeing should be in line with the state of soccer’s economic development, so the best leagues should have the best prepared referees. Webb (25) stated that the question of the professionalization of referees was first raised in England in 1964. The subject was debated until 2001, when referees signed contracts in England, the first country in the world that recognized refereeing as a profession. Abadi et al. (p. 89, 26) defined ‘profession’ as “the work that an individual does for a living, having the degree of knowledge, expertise and training required.” Closely connected to profession is the notion of career success as explored by Shen et al. (p. 1755, 27), who studied ‘career success’ across 11 countries and defined it as “the accomplishment of desirable work-related outcomes at any point in a person’s work experiences over time.” Financial achievement is the primary indicator of a successful career worldwide, being closely followed by ‘promotion/achievements’, defined as a sense of career success based on attaining better positions or assignments. This can also be applied to soccer refereeing, where reaching the top means promotion resulting in better match assignments that result in higher match fees. At an international level, the elite FIFA referees from Europe (21 referees from 17 countries) did not mention the refereeing demands among the experienced stress factors (28). At the moment, 15 out of 20 of the European top leagues offer referees different types of contracts, as presented in Table 2.

Table 2 Soccer Referees’ Professionalization Level in Top 20 European Leagues

In terms of professionalization, England, Italy, and Germany are the most developed countries by far, because referees there who officiate in the first and second tiers are paid monthly salaries, although there are different types of contracts depending on the number of years of experience at the highest level or the number of games officiated per season. Although they had ‘full-time’ jobs as referees, Webb (p. 82, 25) revealed that most English referees continued also having part-time jobs because they were contracted to work in refereeing on a seasonal basis, which could not guarantee them financial stability for longer periods.

The second contract type is found in those countries in which all the top-league referees are offered full-time contracts. This applies to Spain, Germany, France, Turkey, Poland, and Hungary. Israel and Denmark offer part-time contracts to their top referees. In Norway and Sweden, only FIFA referees work as full-time referees, whereas only FIFA referees sign part-time contracts in Portugal.

The last contract type is the hybrid type of contract represented by the Netherlands and Belgium. In the Dutch system, FIFA referees have full-time contracts and the remaining top-league referees have part-time contracts. In Belgium, 12 out of 29 referees work as part-time referees; they receive two days of training (physical, mental, and theoretical) at the Belgian Football Centre (29).

Soccer refereeing is a profession not only in Europe but also in other countries that have competitive leagues. Countries outside Europe are not part of this study, but it is interesting to note other soccer leagues around the world that also recognize refereeing as a profession. All the data I could find about referees’ professionalization status worldwide are presented in Table 3.

Table 3 Soccer Refereeing as a Profession in the Rest of the World

In conclusion, refereeing has recently become a profession not only in Europe but also in the other continents. Fifteen European leagues and another 11 worldwide have recognized refereeing as a profession. There had been little change in refereeing for over 100 years, and the professionalization trend arose only in the last decade due to soccer commercialization as well as the involvement of VAR technology. Professionalization and the use of technology are only common in top-league soccer refereeing, whereas the otherleagues are still operating under the old conditions. Therefore, a line of change that divides soccer internally also differentiates refereeing and distinguishes countries.

THE ROMANIAN CASE

SHAMAUTERISM

Romania has a strong tradition in soccer, participating in several World Cups and European Championships and producing players such as Gheorghe Hagi and Cristian Chivu, who are part of contemporary soccer history. Romanian refereeing is equally prominent, having important representatives at the international level. Nicolae Rainea refereed five games at three World Cups and the European Champions Cup final in 1983, while Ion Crăciunescu was the referee of the Champions League Final in 1995. The best generation of Romanian referees is the current one, having Istvan Kovacs and Ovidiu Haţegan as its main representatives. Both of them took part in Euro 2020, which was a great achievement for Romanian refereeing. Romania was the only country with two referees, excepting the big five soccer countries, which always have two referees at the main tournaments. Moreover, Kovacs was the fourth official at the 2022 Qatar World Cup and was appointed by UEFA to referee the Conference League and Europa League finals.

Although Romanian referees have performed well, the referee professionalization process has been slower in Romania than in other countries due to the domestic economic situation and soccer bodies. Many Romanian referees have refereeing as their main focus, and the income from it is significant because they have no other job or a poorer-paying one. Even though they still have an amateur status, the top Romanian referees perceive themselves as professionals with their main focus on refereeing. All these features are typical of the concept of ‘shamateurism’.

No forms of referees’ employment were identified in the top 21–35 European soccer leagues and there is hardly any data about referees’ match fees across Europe due to the National Referee Committees’ lack of transparency. Each soccer league across Europe has its specific arrangements. The same is true regarding Romania, which is 23rd according to the UEFA ranking but is in the Top 20 based on TV rights revenues. Further analysis will determine whether these revenues exert any influence on the referees’ professionalization level. The starting point of the analysis was to identify the Romanian elite referees’ professions using autoethnographic tools, which was easy as I was part of the group and had had long-term professional and personal relationships with them (i.e., 27 referees, comprising 25 men and two women) for over ten years, as presented in Figure 1. The soccer referee population is small, and all referees know one another not only from professional contacts but usually from personal ones as well. Nine out of 27 of the Romanian referees work solely as referees and have no other jobs. Five of them work in soccer for county FAs and have different roles, such as the president, general secretary, or chairman of the county referee committee. Another five work as physical education (PE) teachers. Two of the elite referees work in healthcare, as a physiotherapist and a nurse, respectively. Three of the referees are entrepreneurs who have their own businesses, while the remaining three work as managers in various companies.

Figure 1: The Professions of Romanian Soccer Referees

Dunning (p. 114, 9) defined ‘shamateurism’ as “any kind of ludic activity from which people obtain financial gain,” in his discussion of professional sports. He identified different types of sports that involve relationships between the producers and consumers of the sporting performance and others who offer financial support to the producers. Furthermore, his typology includes legitimate types of sports professionalism, including those types of professionalism in which financial support for athletes is derived from ticket sales and those types of professionalism in which financial support is provided by commercial entities, such as sponsors. Based on Dunning’s conceptualization, the theoretical perspective of shamateurism can be developed and also be applied to refereeing. The new type of shamateurism is defined as a legitimate sports activity that economically benefits its practitioners but is not officially recognized as a profession. Shamateurism in refereeing is characterized by the financial support received by the referees from commercial entities, such as the national FA as concerns match fees and sponsors as concerns equipment or other benefits.

            As mentioned in the previous section, the Romanian Superliga started using VAR technology in 2022. It was a big step in the referees’ professionalization process due to the intense preparation required for the implementation. The proposed definition of shamateurism was supported in the interviews, which revealed that five out of six Romanian referees work solely as referees:

If refereeing was my passion, my hobby, ten years ago, now it’s my job, my business. My approach is 100% pro, although in Romania you can’t work as a full-time referee. (Referee 1)
Referee 2 added:

Right now, refereeing is everything. It’s the most important thing in my life. Everything else takes second place compared with my refereeing duties. (Referee 2)

During the interviews, a pattern emerged:

I quit my job when I made the FIFA list. Being an international referee made me more determined than ever to focus more on refereeing. (Referee 3)

At the same time, young referees who have the chance to become international referees also focus on refereeing:

At the moment, refereeing is my number one priority. I am one hundred percent focused on refereeing. (Referee 5)

However, another national league referee prefers to have a regular job because it offers him financial stability in case he is unable to earn enough from refereeing:

Refereeing is like a profession for me because it’s more than a passion, but I still have a full-time job. At the same time, you can’t survive being just a referee, but you can still live without being a referee … I might quit my job if I could be on the FIFA list, but I’m not sure, maybe I would change to a part-time job that wouldn’t pay that well but would provide an income in case there were any critical situations. (Referee 6)

To illustrate the trends in the referees’ professional status, the 2006 World Cup referees’ and 2023–2024 Romanian Superliga referees’ professional status will be compared. Although one might criticize the comparison of the two groups, they share certain features: in both groups, refereeing is not recognized as a profession, and both groups are refereeing at the highest level. Therefore, both groups might be relevant in terms of trends and the future of refereeing from the profession perspective. Nevala (30) was interested in the professions of referees who officiated at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, finding that 18 out of 21 had other full-time jobs: ten of them (48%) were senior white-collar employees (i.e., middle managers and teachers), five (24%) were entrepreneurs or CEOs, three (14%) were regular employees (i.e., a nurse, sales representative, and IT expert), and the last three (14%) were professional referees or worked for a soccer organization at the time. Nevala’s categorization was also applied to Romanian elite referees in order to have comparable data: 14 out of the 27 were full-time referees or involved in county FAs; six were entrepreneurs and CEOs, five were teachers and middle managers, while the last two were a nurse and physiotherapist.

Figure 2 shows that there are insignificant differences in the nurse/physiotherapist and entrepreneur/CEO groups. While the vocational profession of nursing/physiotherapy might be considered to have the same pattern as refereeing, the entrepreneur and top-level management professions might offer sufficient flexibility that refereeing can be done. While teaching and middle management used to be popular professions among referees, it seems that newer generations of referees focus on refereeing or find jobs linked to soccer activities, such as working for county FAs. This pattern reflects the current pace of change in terms of employment and indicates that becoming a professional referee also involves aspects other than purely financial ones. Excepting match fees, the referees need financial stability throughout the year, for times when there are no games or they are not appointed to any. Moreover, insurance in case of injuries as well as retirement pensions are also important for them. Only when all these requirements are met will referee professionalism become a reality. In conclusion, although refereeing is not recognized as a profession in Romania, half of Romanian elite referees are active only in soccer, in what could be easily recognized as shamateurism.

Figure 2: Trends in the Professions of Elite Soccer Referees

MONOPSONY

In becoming a profession, refereeing has had to find its place on the professional sports labor market. Monopsony is a familiar theoretical concept in major professional sports (e.g., baseball, American football, basketball, and ice hockey) in America that could also be applied to soccer refereeing. Robinson (p. 215, 31) defined ‘monopsony’ as a “market with a single buyer.” Most scholars have taken a purely economic approach to monopsony, especially focusing on the clubs’ and leagues’ power over the players’ salaries. This study, however, focuses more on the socio–economic particularities of monopsony.

Soccer refereeing is not yet fully considered a profession in Romania, although a significant number of Romanian elite referees identify themselves with this profession. Thus, this study tries to identify whether the monopsony concept can also be applied to Romanian refereeing. A characteristic typical of monopsony is that the sport leagues and governing bodies are the sole employers of referees for professional games, giving these bodies significant control. In this case, the sport league is the Romanian FA and the governing body is the Romanian Referee Committee. The monopsony’s main features are related to earnings, working conditions, job security, and labor relations between the referees and decision makers (i.e., the Romanian FA and Committee). Each of these features will be treated separately below.

EARNINGS
Referees are socially acknowledged for their sports careers, giving them not only social status but also consistent financial benefits. Table 4 presents the data on match fees in the Superliga and the average net earnings in Romania. Any referee appointed to more than two matches per month earns more than the average net earnings in Romania. This analysis does not take into account match fees from international matches. FIFA referees earn more than other referees due to their international appointments. It is sometimes the case that non-FIFA referees also travel abroad as fourth officials or assistant video assistant referees.

Table 4 – Romanian Superliga Match Fees and Average Earnings in Romania

The income from refereeing guarantees a decent standard of living:
If you’re a top-ten referee in the Romanian league, you might officiate at around 20 games per season. The match fee is around EUR 1200, less accommodation, travel, and tax. Basically, you earn around EUR 900 to 1000 after each game. We should also not forget the new opportunities offered by VAR. So, referees can earn EUR 2500 to 3000 per month if they don’t make mistakes. As you know, each mistake means there’s no game the next week or in the coming weeks. (Referee 3)

The second group of referees comprises maybe ten referees who officiate at 10–15 games per season, plus at games as VAR and fourth officials, which can earn them a monthly income of around EUR 2000. The last group of referees, who officiate at under ten games per season, would earn a monthly income of around EUR 1500:

There are huge financial benefits compared with what other Romanians earn. I think all Superliga referees earn more than EUR 2000 per month, which is a good wage for Romania, with the possible exception of people who work in IT, or entrepreneurs. (Referee 6)

Trifan and Berceanu (32) compiled statistics on referees’ incomes after the regular Superliga season (30 match days in nine months), not taking into account the last ten match days (playoffs and playouts). This only concerned Superliga appointments as a referee, fourth official, and VAR referee, without taking into account international or Liga 2 appointments. It was the first season in which VAR was used in Romania, and 24 referees were appointed to the Superliga matches. As the referees revealed in the interviews, the statistics indicate that the top-ten referees earned EUR 2500–3350 per month, the next seven EUR 2100–2450 per month, and the last seven EUR 1510–1955 per month. This shows that being a referee in the Superliga offers a decent standard of living for a country like Romania.
To be paid by the Romanian FA, soccer referees must be registered as sole proprietors/self-employed. The referees also have to pay taxes and travel expenses, including food and accommodation, from their match fees, which is an unusual practice.

WORKING CONDITIONS
Refereeing at the highest national level is a demanding activity. Being a referee is not just about the match but is also about careful match preparation. The Romanian Referee Committee has certain requirements for its match officials. Preparing for a match has several aspects that should be taken into consideration by top referees. The most important aspect is physical preparation, followed by mental and tactical preparation. All six referees confirmed that they trained every day and that they had to submit monthly reports on their training to a fitness coach who works for the Committee. Moreover, their appointments are influenced by the level of their physical preparation:

I train for around two hours every day. I also focus on recovery after a match, which includes a massage or a sauna. (Referee 3)

Tactical preparation has become increasingly important. The Romanian Referee Committee offers different learning platforms that keep elite referees updated on the most recent information regarding their interpretation of the Laws of the game. FIFA Red and Perception4perfection are two e-learning tools, both of which are very useful for offline referee training; they also help with VAR training by providing the most recent incidents from European soccer. Elite referees also have a platform that features all the matches from the Romanian Superliga. This gives them the opportunity to prepare for their next games in terms of game tactics and players. Refs.sportsmatrix.com is also used by the chair of the Romanian Referee Committee to provide educational video clips from Romanian Superliga games after every match day in order to give the Committee guidelines for upcoming matches.

A soccer match nearly always requires a referee to make three to four decisions every minute, and some of these decisions might be difficult close calls based on ambiguous situations, and referees also have to deal with pressure, both physical and mental. Referees are usually emotionally drained after each game:

A referee is physically exhausted after a game and very tired mentally. On the pitch, they have to control 22 personalities [i.e., players], plus coaches, and are in charge of everything that’s going on, including pressure from the fans, coaches, and the media. When you finally get home, you’re really worn out. So, in order to recover mentally, it’s important to go for a walk or go and see a movie. Isolated and quiet places help me to relax. Psychological recovery is very important for me because a massage may take care of your physical needs, but mental recovery is essential because refereeing requires a huge mental commitment. (Referee 4)

As previously mentioned, the referees pay their own travel and accommodation expenses. It seems that Romanian referees are the only referees in Europe who have to pay such expenses themselves. In most other European countries, it is standard practice for these expenses to be paid by the clubs through the FAs. All Superliga games are televised, the first game of the match day being on Friday, while the last game is on Monday, with the matches usually kicking off at either 19.00 or 21.00. The amount of time spent traveling and the poor infrastructure create problems for referees:

We have to travel long distances to matches and we can’t always travel by plane. In terms of holding down a job, you have to find one where people understand your passion for refereeing, or you must run your own business. This means we’re always in a hurry after matches, driving all night to get home or go to work. (Referee 1)

Figure 3 shows Romanian Superliga soccer clubs and the geographical distribution of referees. As can be noted, the Bucharest area has the most clubs (four) and referees (ten). This is followed by Craiova, with two clubs and three referees. Cluj-Napoca also has two clubs, but only one referee. Four towns each have one club and one referee: Arad, Galaţi, Ploieşti, and Sfântu-Gheorghe. There are also towns that only have referees: two each in Satu-Mare, Piteşti, and Râmnicu-Vâlcea and one each in Braşov and Târgu-Mureş. Finally, Botoșani, Iaşi, Sibiu, and Constanţa have clubs but no referees.

Figure 3: Superliga Clubs and Referees, 2023–2024 Season: Geographical Distribution

The analysis is important from the appointment perspective. The rules of the Romanian Referee Committee allow referees from Bucharest to officiate at matches involving clubs from Bucharest even if they are a home or an away team, whereas the remaining referees cannot officiate at matches involving clubs from their hometown. Moreover, the rules of the Romanian Referee Committee recommend that the whole referee team should be accommodated in the same hotel before matches and that they should not leave a city or town if a match finishes after 23.00.

Although these are the rules, it is common for referees to go directly to a stadium if it is near their hometown, especially when they are a fourth official or VAR. Most referees leave directly after a match, regardless of whether they live in the same city or town or have to travel by car for several hours. The referees act in this way because they are responsible for booking and paying for the hotel accommodation, which is sometimes challenging and time consuming. The Romanian FA and the Referee Committee are responsible for nothing in terms of covering these expenses. Obviously, referees from Bucharest, Ploieşti, and Piteşti have an advantage over other referees from an economic perspective as long as they do not spend too much on food and accommodation if their appointments are near their hometown. The most disadvantaged referees are from Satu-Mare, Oradea, Arad, and Galaţi because they have to pay higher travel and accommodation expenses. In conclusion, referees from southern Romania are economically advantaged by the actual Committee rules.

LABOR RELATIONS BETWEEN REFEREES AND GOVERNING BODIES

Soccer refereeing is characterized by two aspects that are the most important for anyone involved in the game:

Let’s not waste time talking about it. In refereeing, the only things that matter are appointments and promotions. This is all we’re interested in and nothing else matters. (Referee 2)

This study focuses on the top league only, where the only thing worth discussing is appointments. A referee’s income is determined by the appointments made by the Romanian Referee Committee. There used to be clear rules about the appointments, but discretionary rules have recently been introduced that have created conflict and confusion among referees:

I expect all of us to be treated equally. There were times when I had a good game but I wasn’t offered any appointments for the next five consecutive match days, whereas other referees who had made clear mistakes were appointed on the next match day. We also need predictability, to know when we’re going to be appointed or how many match days we’re going to miss if we make a mistake. Some of us also have other jobs and need to know, or maybe want to take our families on holiday. (Referee 4)

There was a timid attempt to establish a referee union over ten years ago, but the union was not officially recognized by the Romanian FA and Referee Committee. These bodies continuously discouraged the union, as a powerful one would decrease their monopsonic power over referees (33). Moreover, no referee wanted to assume the leadership role because it could affect his career, since the referees were used to acting on their own behalf rather than as part of a collective. Nowadays, Romanian referees are not represented by any union and have no representative in the Romanian Referee Committee to advocate for their rights. Consequently, the decisions are influenced by the subjectivity of the Referee Committee.

JOB SECURITY

By far the most controversial subject for referees was medical emergencies that stop them from officiating at matches. All the interviewed referees agreed that there was only one reason they would give up refereeing:

At the moment, there’s nothing that would make me give up refereeing, unless I got ill. I am a Superliga referee, and I enjoy every single moment on the pitch whatever I’m doing: training or refereeing. (Referee 5)

Recently, five referees could not referee for extended periods for health reasons. In these situations, the referees were responsible for their own circumstances without any financial support from the soccer bodies, although in two situations the injuries occurred during the fitness test organized by the Referee Committee. In 2017, FIFA referee Radu Petrescu had brain surgery and could not officiate for a whole season (34). In 2019, Florin Marcu ruptured his Achilles tendon during a fitness test in which I also took part. Consequently, he could not officiate for a whole season. Although he returned to the pitch, he retired in 2021 at the age of 44, even though there is no longer any age limit in Romanian refereeing. In 2021, I witnessed another injury when Cătălin Buşi suffered the same Achilles injury in the same circumstances and could not officiate for a whole season (35). In March 2022, Ovidiu Haţegan, the best Romanian FIFA referee at the time and a candidate for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, suffered a heart attack and had heart surgery (36). He returned to the pitch after a season although he was appointed to the Superliga as a VAR after six months. The last case concerns Sorin Costreie, who was also involved in the UEFA CORE program and suffered a back injury in the summer of 2022. He was off the pitch for six months after having an operation and was only appointed as a VAR. In the summer of 2023, he had a relapse and had another operation, which might affect his presence on the pitch, although he was again appointed as a VAR referee (37).

The biggest issue we have to face is that there’s no financial support for us as referees if we get sick or are injured. If you only work as a referee and you need brain or back surgery, you’re on your own, nobody cares about you and, from being a top referee, you end up in dire straits without any income. (Referee 1)

Referee 6 continued:
There’s no stability in refereeing. If I happened to return home after the interview and fell down the stairs and broke my neck, my refereeing days would be over. Most types of work are more stable than refereeing and have a certain degree of predictability. (Referee 6)

Thus, health is one the most important considerations for referees, and most referees are concerned about getting injured or becoming sick and the financial consequences of their inability to officiate.

In conclusion, the Romanian FA and Referee Committee have monopsony power over referees in that the referees have almost no influence. There is no referee union or representative to advocate for their rights. No negotiations regarding the match fees take place, and the referees are merely informed if there are any changes. Moreover, promotions to the Elite group or to the FIFA list are made solely by the Referee Committee without clear and transparent criteria, and the Committee members retain full power. No investment in training is offered to referees, the full responsibility being on referees.

CONCLUSIONS

THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS

This study extends our knowledge of the professionalization of European football refereeing, demonstrating that this incremental process has been influenced by several factors. The technological development in soccer of VAR, the increased number of matches per season, and the high level of commercialization have all impacted referees. This study proves that there is a link between the league revenues and the income from selling TV rights. The leagues with lower economic potential cannot offer contracts to the referees, even if they apply a professional approach. The financial rewards offer them a good standard of living, even though refereeing is an unpredictable activity. Overall, refereeing in countries like Romania is characterized by shamateurism.

Throughout this analysis, the professionalization of top-level referees has been treated as an incremental process consisting of three stages, i.e., serious leisure, shamateurism, and professionalism, as presented in Figure 4. Refereeing had been a serious leisure activity until the 1990s, when referees had become highly respected and started forming a subculture in soccer. Refereeing was characterized by shamateurism until the 2010s, because referees continued working in their side jobs but had become top athletes as the physical demands of refereeing mounted ever higher. In the last decade, refereeing has become a profession, and an increasing number of soccer bodies are offering contracts, although each country has its own particular approach.

Figure 4: Professionalization Process in European Soccer Refereeing

The soccer leagues with low revenues and insignificant TV rights contracts can hardly offer career opportunities to referees. Refereeing is a serious leisure activity for the referees in these leagues, the main reasons for their involvement in the game relating to social motivations and love for the game, with the financial rewards being less significant.

One contribution of this study is that it has developed the shamateurism concept in the soccer refereeing context. The Romanian league does not offer any formal employment terms even to its elite referees and does not officially recognize refereeing as a profession. TV rights revenues are closely connected to refereeing development, so that Romanian referees could have a good standard of living based solely on match fees. After the interviews, I was able to verify that the responses of the four experienced referees were direct and that they were not afraid to give straight answers to critical questions. There could be two reasons for this: first, they are part of an elite group and have to deal with similar situations and, second, they have a certain status and are ready to talk openly about the ‘dark’ side of elite refereeing. However, the responses of the two ‘talents’ (i.e., less experienced referees with good potential to reach the FIFA list) to critical questions were ‘politically correct’ because they were concerned that honest responses could have negative consequences if any decision maker were to find out, which is a typical reaction in a monopsony. Consequently, a significant number of Romanian elite referees prefer to focus only on refereeing or to be involved in regional associations and not to have a regular refereeing job. A limitation of this study is its lack of data from other countries about match fees, due to the lack of transparency of national FAs, to compare with Romanian fees.

The most profitable European soccer leagues have recognized refereeing as a profession. There are 26 countries worldwide, 15 being in Europe, that provide formal employment to their referees. The professionalization of referees has taken an irreversible path toward elite soccer refereeing being recognized as a profession. A clear distinction should be made between elite and grassroots refereeing, which should retain its amateur status. The introduction of VAR is only the starting point of technological involvement in elite soccer, and the relationship between soccer refereeing and technology will become increasingly close. Gottschalk et al. (38) have studied the possible implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in soccer refereeing, and its implications. The rapid development of AI suggests that it would be integrated into VAR technology, but there is always a ‘grey area’ in the Laws of the Game that require human decision making and interpretation that cannot be replaced by technology, an aspect that should not be neglected (39). There is a need for further research that takes into account the fact that FIFA and UEFA are aiming to achieve consistency in the decisions made by referees. Furthermore, I suggest that future research into soccer refereeing should focus on national committees’ policies and the profiles of referees from their own perspectives.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS IN SPORT – The Romanian Case

Despite the different professionalization stages and employment models around Europe, soccer refereeing as a profession deserves a place on the sport labor market. In connection with this, Romanian soccer refereeing was analyzed, and it was concluded that refereeing is characterized by monopsony. To address the Romanian FA’s monopsonic position, several steps should be taken by the Romanian Referee Committee. The first step would be for referees to have a representative on the Committee who would work in the interests of their colleagues. Second, there is a need to establish a referee union that would represent the interests of referees, negotiating with soccer bodies for better conditions for all Romanian referees, regardless of the league.

There should be a clear distinction between Superliga referees and national referees. Most European National FAs complain about the lack of referees at the grassroots level. There is a clear need for strategies to attract young people to refereeing. The Romanian FA through the Romanian Referee Committee needs to provide adequate support for the national referees from Liga 2 and Liga 3. Psychological and medical (nutritional) support should be provided to young referees in order to help them develop in a performance environment. The implementation of VAR has created additional positions for referees, but they receive very little personalized feedback. Most European countries have specialized observers for VAR referees who give feedback after each match, but this is not the case in Romania. At the same time, there is a clear need to train accredited VAR referees. Referees learn by doing and through their ability to learn from experienced VAR referees. At the moment, refereeing in Romania is an individual activity with no clear guidelines. The Romanian Referee Committee also needs to be more transparent and inform all referees about its decisions and strategies. There is currently no communication between the Committee and referees, who learn about all relevant decisions through informal channels, creating numerous rumors and conflicts among them.

The transition to professional refereeing in Romania remains a complex challenge due to structural inertia and financial considerations. While refereeing provides substantial income for elite referees, the lack of contractual recognition prevents long-term stability. Future reforms should include structured contracts, financial protections, and referee unions to advocate for fair employment conditions. Due to the international elite soccer refereeing context, my interpretation is that sooner or later, Romanian elite referees will be invited to sign their first contracts and the refereeing activity will be recognized as an profession.

REFERENCES

Colwell S., (2000), The ‘Letter’ and the ‘Spirit’: Football Laws and Refereeing in the Twenty-First Century. Soccer & Society 1 (1), 201–217. DOI:10.1080/14660970008721259

Webb T., Dicks M, Thelwell R., van der Kamp J. & Rix-Lievre G., (2020) An analysis of soccer referee experiences in France and the Netherlands: Abuse, conflict, and level of support, Sport Management Review, 23:1, 52–65, DOI: 10.1016/ j.smr.2019.03.003

Pina J., Passos A., Araujo D & Maynard T., (2018), Football refereeing: An integrative review, Psychology of Sport and Exercise (35), 10–26

Vasilica I., Silva R., Costa P., Figuieira B., Vaz L., (2022) Football refereeing: a systematic review and literature mapping, Journal of Physical Education and Sport, Vol. 22 (2), 388–401, DOI:10.7752/jpes.2022.02049

Antonie A., (2022), Career stages in Romanian football refereeing – the path from referee course to the FIFA badge, Journal of Physical Education and Sport, Vol. 22 (7), 1675–1684

Loghmani M., Cuskelly G., & Webb T., (2021) Examining the career dynamics of elite football referees: a unique identification profile, Sport Management Review, Vol. 24, No. 3, 517–542.

Pina J., Passos A. M., Carvalho H & Maynard T.M. (2019), To be or not to be an excellent football referee: different experts’ viewpoints, Journal of Sport Sciences, 37:6, 692–700, DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2018.1522940

Mendes S., Oliveira E.M., Monteiro D & Travassos B., (2021) The Portuguese referee performance model, International Journal of Sport Science & Coaching, Vol. 16(5), 1117–1125.

Loghmani M., Taylor T. & Ramzaninejad R., (2017) Job characteristics and psychological states of football referees: implications for job enrichment, Managing Sport and Leisure, 22:5, 342–357, DOI: 10.1080/23750472.2018.1426488

Dunning E., (1999), Sport Matters: sociological studies of sport, violence and civilization, Routledge, London

Stebbins A.R., (2005) Inclination to Participate in Organized Serious Leisure: An Exploration of the Role of Costs, Rewards, and Lifestyle, Leisure, vol 29

Rosen S. & Sanderson A., (2001), Labour Markets in Professional Sports, The Economic Journal, 111, F47-F68

Anderson L., (2006). Analytic Autoethnography, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 35(4), 373–395.

Hughes S. & Pennington J., (2017), Autoethnography: Process, Product, and Possibility for Critical Social Research, Sage Publication Inc.,

Clandinin D.J., (2013), Engaging in narrative inquiry, Routledge, New York

Ryba T., Ronkainen N. & Selänne H., (2015) Elite athletic career as a context for life design, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 88, 47–55.

Merriam S. & Tisdell E., (2016), Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation (4th ed.), Jossey-Bass.

Samuel R.D., Galily Y., Filho E., & Tenenbaum G., (2020), Implementation of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) as a Career Change-Event: The Israeli Premier League Case Study, Frontiers in Psychology, DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.564855

Union of European Football Association, (2024), The European Club Finance and Investment Landscape, https://cdn.vev.design/private/aTCxVXgBbmVvmw45NvpIseApVuy2/1joo9t-uefa-benchmarking-ecfil-report-2024.pdf

Johansen B. T., (2015) Reasons for officiating soccer: the role of passion-based motivations among Norwegian elite and non-elite referees, Movement & Sport Sciences, DOI:10.1051/sm/2014012

Voight M., (2009), Sources of stress and coping strategies of US Soccer officials, Stress and Health, 25: 91–101, DOI: 10.1002/smi.1231

Karakus S., Caglayan H.S., & Pepe H., (2011) Evaluation of the factors that affect performances of active football referees in Turkey, African Journal of Business Management, Vol. 5(20), 8215–8223, DOI: 10.5897/AJBM11.621

Gillue G.S., Laloux Y.R., Alvarez M.T., Feliu J.C., (2018), Sources of Stress Inside and Outside of the Match in Football Referees, Apunts. Education Fisica y Deportes, no. 132, 2, 22 –31.

Rullang C., Emrich E., & Pierdzioch C. (2017) Why do referees end their careers and which factors determine the duration of a referee’s career?, Current Issues in Sport Science, 2:006, doi:10.15203/CISS_2017.006

Choi H. & Chiu W., (2017), Influence of perceived organizational support, job satisfaction, and career commitment of football referees’ turnover intention, Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 17 (3), 955–959

Webb T., (2017), Elite Soccer Referees: Officiating in the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A, Routledge, London

Abadi H.A., Ayentimi D.T., & Coetzer A., (2020), The meaning and essential nature of a profession: a multi-perspective approach, Labour & Industry, 30:1, 85-96, DOI: 10.1080/10301763.2020.1723784

Shen Y., Demel B., Unite J., Briscoe J.P., Hall D.T., Chudzikowski K., Mayrhofer W., Abdul-Ghani R., Milikic B.B., Colorado O., Fei Z., Heras M.L., Ogliastri E., Pazy A., Poon J.M.L., Shefer D., Taniguchi M. & Zikic J., (2015) Career success across 11 countries: implications for international human resources management, The International Journal of Human Resources Management, Vol. 26, No. 13, 1753–1778

Schnyder U. & Hossner E-J., (2016), Psychological issues in football officiating: An interview study with top-level referees, Current Issues in Sport Sciences, (1)

Royal Belgium Football Association, (2023), Belgian referee list. https://www.rbfa.be/en/participate/referees/our-referees/semi-pros

Nevala A., (2007), “Mistä avaruudesta heidät on hankittu?”. Saksan MM-turnauksen erotuomarien valikoiminen ja tausta. (In English: “From what space do they come from?” Selection and background of the referees in World Cup 2006 in Germany). In H. Itkonen & A. Nevala (Eds.) Kuningaspelin kentät. Jalkapalloilu paikallisena ja globaalina ilmiönä (in English: Playing fields of the King of Games. Football as a local and global game.) Gaudeamus, Helsinki University Press, 195–209.

Robinson J., (1969), The economics of imperfect competition, 2nd ed. London, Macmillan

Trifan A. & Berceanu G., (2023) How much do Superliga referees earn? How Vassaras share €0.5 million between referees and the challenging economic analysis of Romanian refereeing! The controversial Barsan, Chivulete and Popa are the top of the list https://www.prosport.ro/fotbal-intern/cat-castiga-arbitrii-din-superliga-cum-imparte-kyros-vassaras-o-jumatate-de-milion-de-euro-intre-centrali-si-radiografia-provocatoare-a-banilor-din-arbitrajul-romanesc-controversatii-birsan-chivule-19615110#google_vignette

Teodorescu L., (2012), The referees can go on strike, https://www.national.ro/sport/arbitrii-au-dreptul-la-greva-123031.html/

Dobrescu P., (2017), Radu Petrescu suffered a brain surgery. The FIFA referee is fighting for his life, https://www.libertatea.ro/sport/arbitrul-radu-petrescu-fost-operat-pe-creier-1945228

Arena Vâlceană, (2021), Cătălin Buşi had terrible bad luck at Elite Referees’ fitness test https://arenavalceana.ro/catalin-busi-ghinion-teribil-la-testele-arbitrilor-de-liga/

Crăiţoiu A., (2022), Difficult moments for Ovidiu Haţegan. He suffered an heart attack and was urgently operated at Timişoara, https://www.gsp.ro/fotbal/liga-1/ovidiu-hategan-a-suferit-un-infarct-659048.html

Digisport, (2025), Kyros Vassaras’s decision regarding VAR referee after FCSB – Dinamo match’s scandal, https://www.digisport.ro/fotbal/liga-1/decizia-luata-de-kyros-vassaras-in-cazul-arbitrului-de-la-var-dupa-scandalul-din-fcsb-dinamo-3452137

Gottschalk C, Tewes S, Niestroj B., (2020), The Innovation of Refereeing in Football through AI, International Journal of Innovation and Economic Development, Vol.6(2), 35–54