"The Referee Plays to Be Insulted!": An Exploratory Qualitative Study on the Spanish Football Referees' Experiences of Aggression, Violence, and Coping.

Referees are essential participants in the sport of football. They are responsible for enforcing the rules and achieving the necessary impartiality for the matches. Referees are often target of hostile reactions from fans, players, and coaches. However, few studies have focused on these experiences and the strategies they use to manage them. In order to fill this gap, a qualitative interview-based study was developed to explore the experiences of a group of football referees (four males and four females) on aggression, violence, and coping. A thematic analysis was developed combining inductive and deductive processes. Results indicated that the most frequent aggressions experienced were verbal abuse. Most of the aggressions from spectators were of a sexist nature. When aggressions were considered normal by referees, symbolic violence emerged. Racist aggressions were directed to the two Moroccan participants. Problem and emotional-focused coping strategies were identified. The two most common referee responses to coaches' and players' verbal abuse were penalties and send-off calls. Smiling and not considering insults as a personal matter were two emotional-focused coping strategies used toward spectator aggressions. Implications for the referees' job and well-being as well as the quality of football competitions were highlighted to reduce aggressions and violence and to help referees to cope with hostile behaviors.

Efectos de una Unidad Didáctica de educación postural en 1º de la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria / Effects of postural education unit in first year of secondary school

El objetivo de este estudio es conocer la prevalencia de dolor lumbar y evaluar los efectos de una unidad didáctica de educación postural sobre los conocimientos teóricos de la salud de la espalda, así como los efectos de la misma sobre la resistencia de la musculatura extensora, inclinadora y flexora del tronco en alumnado de 1º de ESO. Participan 18 discentes (10 chicos y 8 chicas) de 12.22 ± .43 años de edad de un colegio perteneciente a la Comunidad Valenciana. Se realiza una evaluación inicial (Pretest) de conocimientos teóricos y de aptitudes físicas a través de diversos test de campo. Tras esto, se aplica el programa de intervención, en el que se desarrolla una unidad didáctica de educación postural compuesta por 8 sesiones, siendo la primera de ellas sobre contenidos teóricos y las 7 restantes prácticas. Tras la aplicación de la unidad didáctica se llevan a cabo los mismos test (Postest). Los resultados muestran mejoras estadísticamente significativas tras la aplicación de la unidad didáctica en los conocimientos sobre la salud de la espalda (p ≤ .004) y sobre la resistencia de la musculatura del tronco (p ≤ .001) en los alumnos y alumnas de 1º de ESO. Las mejoras producidas pueden tener implicaciones prácticas importantes, pues la adolescencia es una edad proclive para el aumento de las algias lumbares y la intervención presentada, que es de fácil aplicabilidad, podría ayudar a prevenir la aparición de dolor lumbar crónico y de otras complicaciones en el futuro

The main objective of this study is to know the prevalence of lower back pain and to evaluate the effects of a didactic postural education unit on the theoretical knowledge of back health, as well as the effects on the endurance of the extensor, inclining and flexor trunk muscles in students of 1st ESO. 18 students (10 boys and 8 girls) of 12.22 ± .43 years old from a school belonging to the Valencian Community participate. An initial assessment (Pretest) of theoretical knowledge and physical aptitudes is carried out through various field tests. After this, the intervention program is applied, in which a postural education unit composed of 8 sessions was developed, being the first one on theoretical content and the remaining 7 practices. After the application of the postural unit, the same tests (Postest) are carried out. The results show statistically significant improvements after the application of the didactic unit in the knowledge about back health (p ≤ .004) and on the strength of the trunk musculature (p ≤ .001) in students of 1st ESOs. The improvements produced may have important practical implications, since adolescence is a prone age for the increase in lumbar pain and the intervention presented, which is easily applicable, could help prevent the occurrence of chronic low back pain and other complications in the future