In the modern age of sports as a multi-trillion dollar industry, referees have too much power in deciding the outcome of games. One split second decision in the competitive heat of the moment can shift the trajectory of a team’s season. In this way, the games are not always decided by the players on the field, but the referees; who are subject to human error. Acknowledging these potential mistakes while also giving credit to the fact that these decisions are influenced by bias is important.
Along with the human error aspect, referees are also influenced by pressure from fans and the media which could also influence calls. The rise in sports betting has contributed to this as point spreads and prop bets dominate modern sports since the product is so heavily influenced by external factors. The sports betting industry also led to fans feeling cheated. This isn’t on the referee, who potentially made the right call, but they still have to deal with the backlash of the decision in terms of angry fans who may choose to send threats towards these officials.
This idea of ‘referee bias’ is partly a result of the success of dynasties in sports and the correlation between the popular consensus of successful teams typically receiving calls for reasons like the league marketing its top teams. An example of this is the NFL’s most recent dynasty, the Kansas City Chiefs, who have won three championships and appeared in seven conference championships since 2018.
Particularly on social media, passionate fans were fed up with the Chiefs winning as they felt the consistent appearance of the team at the top of the NFL’s rankings was because of the referees. There have been multiple instances throughout Kansas City’s run of games coming down to a singular call which seemingly can go in either team’s favor but ends up rewarding the Chiefs.
Despite this, referees are needed to manage the fast paced flow of the game. The product would suffer if the game wasn’t called by the rulebook and these sports leagues would witness a decline in viewership because of it. Getting rid of referees is not the answer, the solution lies in limiting the power they have. With the advancement of technology and the emergence of artificial intelligence, using computers would help mitigate the aspect of human error and may pick up small details which otherwise wouldn’t be seen.
A successful example of this is VAR (video assistance referee) technology in soccer. This technology is used for assistance with offside calls by using data processing to determine where players and the ball are in relation to what would be considered legal. This helps referees as they are able to review the decision before confirming or overturning the call.
Referees play an important role in managing not only the rules as a neutral party, but maintaining player safety to produce the best possible product for the fans. However, the game’s outcome should come down to the players on the field rather than the referees blowing the whistle.
