Proportionality, somatotype, anthropometrical, and bioelectrical characteristics of elite international soccer referees

Purpose: this study aimed to assess the physical characteristics of elite international soccer referees and compare them with other populations by somatotyping, the bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA), and the Phantom proportionality methods. Methods: forty-one elite international soccer referees (age 38.8 ± 3.6 years) participated in the study. the participants underwent body composition assessments, bioelectrical impedance vector analysis, and anthropometry. The Somatotype Attitudinal Distance (SAD), the two-sample Hotelling’s T2, and the Mahalanobis tests were used to determine somatotype and bioelectrical vector differences with the literature. The Phantom Z-score (Zp-score) was used for proportionality comparisons. Results: the average somatotype was balanced mesomorph. Elite international referees significantly differed from Zimbabwean, Brazilian, and South African referees (SAD = 2.1,2.6, 2.9, respectively). The bioelectrical vector was significantly different from the general and the athletic population falling respectively on the left (T2 B 76.6 D = 1.44; P\0.001) and the right (T2 B 25.3; F = 12.6; D = 0.8; P\0.001) sides. The Phantom method displayed a similar profile to South American soccer players, except for humerus diameter and tight girth (Zp = – 0.48 and 1.13 and -0.83 and 0.76 for referees and soccer players, respectively). Conclusions: elite soccer referees have good fitness in terms of body composition, although they are still not comparable to the top-level athletic and soccer populations.