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The player transfer system of professional football is an exceptional mechanism for controlling worker mobility. Under FIFA's Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, an employee under contract may not seek employment at another club, and another club may not approach the player while under contract without the permission of their current club. Failure to observe these rules can result in large financial penalties and sporting sanctions. On April 30, the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice issued an opinion that: ... the FIFA rules governing contractual relations between players and clubs may prove to be contrary to the European rules on competition and freedom of movement of persons. If the court concurs, the current system will have to be replaced, leading to significant changes in the way that player contracts are governed. This paper reviews the rationale for the transfer system, arguing that it represents an unreasonable restraint of the trade, and explores the implications of its abolition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using social cognitive theory and notions of sanitized sports violence as a framework, a content analysis of 486 National Football League (NFL) violent penalty calls (unnecessary roughness, roughing the passer) from broadcasts in 2009 and 2019 was conducted. Announcers were largely polarized in their reactions to violent penalties when they were shown on replay. Players were rarely injured and concussions as a key issue were rarely mentioned. Concerns about the effectiveness of NFL rule changes intended to protect players and their influence on announcers' frustration with perceived over-penalization of the game (and audiences as a potential byproduct) are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate which observable variables would be able to predict the penalty taker strategy; and to identify the prevalence of the penalty taker strategy in successful penalty kicks. Dataset consists of 220 penalty kicks from the German Bundesliga (2019-2021). Video-based performance analysis of in-match penalty kicks was performed. Chi-squared (χ²) test and logistic regression (enter method) analyses were performed to investigate the relationship between observable behaviors and the penalty-taker strategy. The following behavior: gaze behavior at the ball, no deception, number of steps more than 3, perceived ball speed as powerful shot, run up speed fast, penalty kick shot height at the center or down, kicking technique instep kick, and run up approach frontal was related to the goalkeeper independent strategy (χ² (177) = 211.049, 96%, p < .001). In successful penalty kicks the independent goalkeeper strategy was more adopted (59.87%). The differentiation between penalty kick patterns provides scientific and practical insights as it enables researchers to identify patterns in the German Bundesliga. Through analysis of the kicker's running pattern, deception actions, gaze behavior, and kicking technique, football practitioners may attempt to determine the kicker's favored approach, and ultimately the penalty kick strategy, so they can inform coaching staff and players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

These days, the integration of big data and information systems enables industries such as sports, health, and medical sciences in resource optimization by enhancing their operational efficiency. Personalized health management, driven by advancements in big data analysis, feature extraction, and internet of things (IoT) has emerged as a prominent trend in the sports industry. Based on these advancements, this paper focuses on leveraging machine vision, big data, and IoT to conduct a comprehensive study for extracting football players' offense features by aiming to improve accuracy and ensure the players' safety in sports industry. First, this paper discusses a framework for sports health, which is based on big data analysis. Next, we discuss the use of big data and feature extraction for IoT and sports health informatics. The action image of an offense for football players is collected by an intelligent camera, and the gathered imaging code is read and analyzed by radio frequency technology. Using the recognition method of offense action using deep learning and motion information, the offense action's image features and the three-color features of video RGB are fused into deep learning features to complete the offense action recognition. Based on the offense action recognition, the Harris 3D operator is applied to construct the sequence potential function of the offense action, and the sequence possible function of the offense action is used as the operational technique for this purpose. In addition, the AdaBoost algorithm is used to comprehensively screen the characterized data of athletes' offense actions, and the filtered data are used as training samples to complete the feature extraction of athletes' offense actions. The experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively reduce the recognition error of offense action and improve the efficiency of action's feature extraction and the accuracy of feature extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assisted adjudication of sports activities and events is becoming more intelligent with the rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoTs). Sensors such as pressure sensors and image sensors have been widely used in sports events, but their durability and energy supply are still challenge. Herein, a novel boundary detection sensor based on hyperelastic triboelectric nanogenerator (H-TENG) for intelligent boundary detection is proposed. The stress-strain of a tennis ball colliding with H-TENG at high speed and the sensing stability are investigated by simulation analysis and experimental validation. The pressure sensitivity of 2.96 V kPa-1 is achieved with excellent linearity (R² = 0.957082) at the pressure of 2.8-13 kPa. And at the velocity of 2-4.47 m s-1, the velocity sensitivity reaches -10.76 V (m s-1)-1 with excellent linearity (R² = 0.948758). Furthermore, a four-channels signal acquisition system is constructed for enhancing the detection accuracy, and the response times of signal feedback are less than 45 ms. This work not only provides a novel approach for intelligent boundary detection in sporting events, but also demonstrates its promising applications in multiple challenges and quick penalties in sports competitions, as well as in intelligent and digital training of athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Comportamentalia is the property of Instituto de Psicologia y Educacion de la Universidad Veracruzana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose. This study aimed to analyse the correlations between individual technical determinants and the overall team performance in rink hockey sport. Methods. Retrospective observational data were collected from 182 matches played by 14 teams competing at the first division of the Portuguese national senior rink hockey championship (full season, 2018/19). Goals scored, goals conceded, direct free-hits, penalties, and final classifications were collected by team, on the basis of the official scoresheets of the games, validated by the official referees. Results. The results revealed that direct free-hits were more prevalent, although teams were more effective on penalties (40.4%) than direct free-hits (27.1%). Strong inverse relationships between direct free-hits effectiveness and final classification in the league (r = -0.71, p = 0.004) as well as penalties (r = -0.58, p = 0.029) were found. The effectiveness of the technical determinants, penalties, and direct free-hits increased with the proficiency of the teams in the classification. However, the bottom teams experienced significantly higher weights of these technical determinants on the team's total goals scored (1st--4th: 15.3%, 5th--9th: 25.6%, 10th--14th: 23.9%; p < 0.05). Conclusions. In conclusion, individual technical determinants' effectiveness was a strong predictor of team performance, accounting for at least 22.1% of the total goals scored in the full season, highlighting athletes' specialization in the training process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the effect of card (yellow and red) collection on player remuneration under the salary cap in Major League Soccer (MLS). The data contain 1478 observations of 731 players under contract between 2015 and 2019. Though the number of yellow cards a player collected had a significant impact, the number of red cards collected was not found to be a significant factor. On average, when a player has accumulated more than eight yellow cards over the course of the regular season, his salary was dropped substantially. If a player receives more than two red cards, his salary was decreased. A key result was that players who were aggressive without crossing the line to the point of being ejected from the field of play received comparatively higher salaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses politics of race, in sports. Topics include in the Euro 2020, racist remarks were made to three Black players who missed penalties in the final; it reveals the thoughts towards Black footballers within racially exclusive definitions of Englishness; and the need for an alternative politics of national belonging should be expressed.

Economists have long recognized that the effect of move order on outcomes is non-negligible in sequential contests. We study tiebreak mechanisms used in team sports and known as penalty shootouts through a dynamic model. We characterize all order-independent mechanisms where two balanced teams have equal chances to win the shootout whenever they are tied after equal numbers of attempts; thus, move order has no relevance for winning chances. In most sports, such as football and hockey, teams take penalties in a fixed order, known as ABAB, while some tournaments adopted the alternating-order variant, ABBA. We find that these and all other exogenous-order mechanisms – with one exception – are order-dependent in regular rounds. Although ABBA is order independent in sudden-death rounds, ABAB is not. Our theory supports empirical studies linking ABAB to unfair outcomes and multiple equilibria in terms of winning chances of the first- vs. second-kicking teams in different football traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although beach soccer has become increasingly popular in recent years an only a minimal number of scientific research has been conducted in this area. The beach soccer is characterized by high intensity (HR max above 90 %) intermittent movements, which primarily requires the involvement of the anaerobic metabolic system. The objective of this study was: (i) to analyze the incidence of goals in the Hungarian Beach Soccer Championship in relation to the periods of the game that tend to occur; (ii) to identify the team that scored the first goal of the game, analyzing the influence of this event on the final result (iii) to identify and quantify the periods of the match won by the winner team. We examined all the goals (n = 1.065) in the Hungarian Championship (2016-2017) of beach soccer. We found that nearly 38 percent of goals are scored in the last period of the matches, the team that scores the first goal of the game features an average 74.44 percent probability of winning. We observed, that almost 24 percent of the teams, which achieved overall success also earned the 1st and 3rd periods. Thus, it is suggested that the higher incidence of goals in the 3rd period of the matches is associated mainly with the interaction of physical and psychological factors. Regarding the influence of the first goal on the final result, we assumed that the psychological factor appears to interfere with greater relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Marmara Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Hukuk Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of Marmara University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objectives: This article relies on data from 20,730 matches in 30 national soccer leagues in Europe to explore the determinants of penalties taken in elite soccer. Methods: We run OLS cross‐sectional regressions using aggregated data. Results: We find that the variation in the number of penalties given across European soccer leagues is largely explained by the individualism versus collectivism dimension. Conclusions: The more (less) collectivistic (individualistic) the culture of the country, the more likely soccer players are to fall intentionally in the penalty area to increase the chances of a foul being called. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the knowledge of Brazilian dentists of sports doping through the development, validation and application of the Brazilian Knowledge Scale about Sports Doping in Dentistry (B-KSSDD). A scale with 12 items was developed to assess a dentist's ability to determine whether the use of a medication characterised sports doping according to the World Anti-Doping Agency. A preliminary study to validate the B-KSSDD was carried out with 135 dentists, allowing the evaluation of ceiling and floor effects, convergent and discriminant validity, test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the instrument. A sample size calculation using the results of the preliminary study and the B-KSSDD was completed online using SurveyMonkey® by 270 participants from all regions of the country. The B-KSSDD showed evidence of convergent and discriminant validity, good temporal stability (ICC = 0.75) and internal consistency (alpha = 0.89). In the main study, the participants obtained an average score of 4.19/12 points on the B-KSSDD, suggesting that these professionals have insufficient knowledge about sports doping. The age of participants showed a negative association with knowledge about doping, while frequency of treating athletes and frequency of performing surgeries showed positive associations with knowledge about doping. The dentists had insufficient knowledge of the subject. Age of participants and frequency with which they attend to athletes are associated with knowledge about sports doping. Professional updating and education policies on doping are necessary for dentists, as athlete patients are at risk for severe sporting and financial penalties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Are the financially and institutionally strongest clubs capable of systematically reaching the top positions in the European national football leagues treated differently in terms of awarded sanctions because of the external off-thepitch pressure they can put on match officials? This study helps shed some light on this controversial question fiercely debated among fans and sports journalists and extends our knowledge of how football match officials may be unconsciously influenced by external (social) forces. Except for France where the evidence is weak, data analysis of the top five European leagues for the seasons from 2011-2012 to 2017-2018 provides empirical evidence supporting the existence of referees' off-the-pitch strongest team bias. In fact, in England, referees award significantly more yellow cards and total booking points (an aggregate measure of yellow and red cards) to the opponents' players, and in Italy, Germany, and Spain, significantly fewer yellow cards and total booking points are given to the top teams' players. The referees' strongest team bias comes on top of the referees' home bias, as discussed in the previous literature, and displays a non-negligible size that can reach approximately the same size of the referees' home bias in some cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The previous performance of the English men's national football team in penalty shootouts has led to the widespread stereotype that English football players are particularly bad at scoring penalties. Research has proposed possible reasons behind this alleged "penalty curse". When looking at these reasons, the question arises if English football players per se have trouble scoring penalty kicks. Therefore, we analyzed the performance of a large sample of penalty takers during all World- and European Championships (N = 696) and, additionally, in some of the highest European leagues over a ten-year period (N = 4,708). The results reveal no significant differences between the success rates (on average between 71–79%, depending on the type of penalty kick and on the type of competition) of penalty takers from different nations. Therefore, we conclude that English players perform as well as players from other nations and that poor performance in penalties lay beyond the factor nationality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of SPORMETRE: The Journal of Physical Education & Sport Sciences / Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Bilimleri Dergisi is the property of SPORMETRE: The Journal of Physical Education & Sport Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Many fouls committed in football (called soccer in some countries) are ambiguous, and there is no objective way of determining who is the "true" perpetrator or the "true" victim. Consequently, fans as well as referees often rely on a variety of decision cues when judging such foul situations. Based on embodiment research, which links perceptions of height to concepts of strength, power, and aggression, we argue that height is going to be one of the decision cues used. As a result, people are more likely to attribute a foul in an ambiguous tackle situation to the taller of two players. We find consistent support for our hypothesis, not only in field data spanning the last seven UEFA Champions League and German Bundesliga seasons, as well as the last three FIFA World Cups, but also in two experimental studies. The resulting dilemma for refereeing in practice is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Referees in German first-league soccer games do not award as many yellow cards in the beginning of a game as should be statistically expected. One explanation for this effect is the concept of game management (Mascarenhas, Collins, & Mortimer, 2002). Alternatively, the consistency model (Haubensak, 1992) explains the effect as a necessity of the judgment situation: Referees need to calibrate a judgment scale, and, to preserve degrees of freedom in that scale, they need to avoid extreme category judgments in the beginning (i.e., yellow cards). Experiment 1 shows that referees who judge scenes in the context of a game award fewer yellow cards than referees who see the same scenes in random order. Experiment 2 shows the combined influence of game management (by explicitly providing information about the game situation) and calibration (early vs. late scenes in the time course of a game). Theoretical implications for expert refereeing and referee training are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Aggressive play in professional soccer, punished by referees with fouls and cards, carries increased injury risk. We compared fouls and cards in the English Premier League (EPL) with the next three divisions of English soccer over 17 seasons (2000/01–2016/17), to determine whether previously observed differences with other top European leagues are unique to the EPL or are characteristic of English professional soccer overall. Methods: Data from individual matches were obtained through online sources and season averages for each league were compared. Fouls and cards were also compared between home and away teams. Correlations with final league positions were examined. Results: Numbers of fouls and yellow cards per match did not substantially differ between leagues, with average differences of 3–3.8% and 6.1–14.0% (effect sizes (ηp2) < 0.01). Away teams consistently committed more fouls and yellow card offences than home teams in each league. Results were similar though less consistent for red cards. Number and rate of cards awarded to the opposition exhibited strongest correlations with final league position across leagues. Conclusions: Our results suggest similar rates of aggressive play among the top English soccer leagues, possibly due to standardized refereeing style. Consequently, contact injuries rates may be higher in English soccer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effect of home advantage (HA) in NCAA Division I football, and assessed factors related to why HA may exist. Game location (home/away), points differential between team scores, distances between team stadiums (short [<483 km], moderate [484–836 km], long [837–1331 km] or very long [>1332 km]), crowd number, differences in team penalty counts (penalty differential), penalty yardage differential and time zone change (Eastward or Westward direction of travel) data from two non-consecutive NCAA college football seasons (2013 and 2016; 719 games; 222 teams) were obtained. Matches played at home were associated with a ~5 point advantage (ES = 0.58 ± 0.18). Away teams traveling >484 km resulted in a moderate disadvantage (~5 to 7 points, ES = −0.61 to −0.77). When crossing time zones in a Westerly direction resulted in a ~7.5 point disadvantage (ES = −0.82 ± 0.31) for away teams. When playing at Home, larger crowds resulted in a ~6 point advantage (ES = 0.67 ± 0.36), whilst larger crowds were negatively associated with performance (~8 points; 2 points) for away teams (ES = −0.97 ± 0.27). These results suggest HA exists in NCAA Division I football, particularly evident with larger crowds. These results provide evidence that could aid logistical or periodisation strategies in preparation for games. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which identified the tactical offensive variables of penalty corner in the 2014 World Cup men's hockey and determined which variables are the most effective in scoring goals. Topics include the teams ranking and number of penalty corner in World Cup hockey men in 2014, tactical variables used in penalty corner, and trends through which penalty corner was studied.

The purpose of this study was to compare athletes' scores, penalties and efficiency between the Olympic and Paralympic Games Rio 2016, and identify which variable determined the winner of the matches. A total of 608 matches in the Olympic and Paralympic Games were analysed. Total relative scores (ippon, waza ari and yuko), penalties (shido per match) and efficiency were identified in the following categories: male and female, Olympic and Paralympic Games, and medallists and non-medallists. The main results showed that waza ari was higher in the Olympic Games (p=.05) than in the Paralympic Games (male team); ippon was higher in the Paralympic Games (p=.05) and shido was higher in the Olympic Games (p=.05) (female team). The male Olympic medallists were more efficient (p=.01), while the female Paralympic medallists were less penalised (p=.01). Ippon was the key variable that determined winning in both the Olympic and Paralympic matches (p<.001). We concluded that the male Olympic judo athletes showed greater efficiency and scores than Paralympians, while the female team presented more scores and fewer penalties. Ippon was the key point that determined victory in most of the matches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of RICYDE. Revista Internacional de Ciencias del Deporte is the property of Revista Internacional de Ciencias del Deporte and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We examine the effect of the sending-off of a player on the goal-scoring rates in FIFA World Cup matches in tournaments from 1998 to 2014. We use a hazard rate framework in which the effect of a red card is modeled as a shift in the goal-scoring rate. A red card may harm the team that receives a red card and may be beneficial for their opponent. Indeed, we find that the goal-scoring rate of the sanctioned team goes down, while the goal-scoring rate of the non-sanctioned team goes up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of SPORMETRE: The Journal of Physical Education & Sport Sciences / Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Bilimleri Dergisi is the property of SPORMETRE: The Journal of Physical Education & Sport Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of this study was to investigate the game-related statistics that discriminate winning and losing teams, and examine the influence of technical performance markers on final score margin in men’s senior Gaelic football. The sample comprised 28 games from 3 years (2015-2017) of the All Ireland Senior Football Championships. This sample was subdivided into close (n = 14) and unbalanced (n = 14) games and analysed using structure coefficients (SC). Across all games, fouls committed (SC = 0.56), goals (SC = 0.39) and total attacks (SC = 0.31) presented the highest discriminatory power. In close games (final score difference <6 points), total attacks (SC = 0.47), shot efficiency (SC = 0.56), goals (SC = 0.50), fouls committed (SC = 0.37) and black cards (SC = 0.43) contributed to winning. Unbalanced games yielded 8 statistics which discriminated winners from losers. In close games, attack efficiency (SC = 0.34), percentage of opposition kick-outs won (SC = 0.37) and yellow cards (SC = 0.32) were associated with winning and red cards (SC = −0.46) with losing. Total attacks and goals discriminated teams across all game contexts. The findings provide performance norms which can be utilised to evaluate and predict performance and inform in-game tactical decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews research on the gaze behavior of penalty takers in football. It focuses on how artificial versus representative experimental conditions affect gaze behavior in this far-aiming task. Findings reveal that--irrespective of the representativeness of the experimental conditions--different instructions regarding the aiming strategy and different threat conditions lead to different gaze patterns. Results also reveal that the goal size and the distance to the goal did not affect the gaze behavior. Moreover, it is particularly run-up conditions that lead to differences. These can be either artificial or more natural. During a natural run-up, penalty takers direct their gaze mainly toward the ball. When there is no run-up, they do not direct their gaze toward the ball. Hence, in order to deliver generalizable results with which to interpret gaze strategies, it seems important to use a run-up with a minimum length that is comparable to that in a real-life situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many sports, athletes perform motor tasks that simultaneously require both speed and accuracy for success, such as kicking a ball. Because of the biomechanical trade-off between speed and accuracy, athletes must balance these competing demands. Modelling the optimal compromise between speed and accuracy requires one to quantify how task speed affects the dispersion around a target, a level of experimental detail not previously addressed. Using soccer penalties as a system, we measured two-dimensional kicking error over a range of speeds, target heights, and kicking techniques. Twenty experienced soccer players executed a total of 8466 kicks at two targets (high and low). Players kicked with the side of their foot or the instep at ball speeds ranging from 40% to 100% of their maximum. The inaccuracy of kicks was measured in horizontal and vertical dimensions. For both horizontal and vertical inaccuracy, variance increased as a power function of speed, whose parameter values depended on the combination of kicking technique and target height. Kicking precision was greater when aiming at a low target compared to a high target. Side-foot kicks were more accurate than instep kicks. The centre of the dispersion of shots shifted as a function of speed. An analysis of the covariance between horizontal and vertical error revealed right-footed kickers tended to miss below and to the left of the target or above and to the right, while left-footed kickers tended along the reflected axis. Our analysis provides relationships needed to model the optimal strategy for penalty kickers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]