Researching one’s own refereeing sports study program: Benefits of an approach based on involvement from the “right” distance

Abstract

As a physical education teacher and a professional referee for the French Football Federation, the author has led the football refereeing program in Auxerre for 14 years. The program offers students the opportunity to specialize in refereeing. In the context of the author’s doctoral research, his duties and responsibilities within the program provide him with greater insight into how a refereeing school operates, notably through his position as an involved researcher, which merits further explanation. His position provides a number of benefits. However, it also offers apparent benefits in terms of access to “proximate fields,” which can turn out to be difficulties. Therefore, the nature of his position requires a process of critical reflection on the right perspective. In other words, there are means and resources available to researcher-actors that can help to limit the impact of the biases generated by having a close relationship to the object of research.

Enseignant d’Éducation Physique et Sportive et arbitre professionnel de la Fédération Française de Football, j’ai en charge depuis 14 ans, au lycée Joseph Fourier d’Auxerre, une filière arbitrage football. Cette dernière est intégrée à une section sportive football et peut accueillir des élèves souhaitant combiner scolarité et arbitrage. Mes différentes missions et responsabilités au sein de cette filière me permettent, dans le cadre d’un travail doctoral, de mieux comprendre le fonctionnement de cette école des arbitres, grâce notamment à une position de chercheur-impliqué qui nécessite de s’y arrêter. Cette position présente une série d’avantages, mais elle comporte aussi de faux aspects de « facilité » de « terrains proches ». Cette position nécessite, par conséquent, une réflexion quant au positionnement à adopter et la mise en œuvre d’outils méthodologiques adaptés qui permettent ainsi se donner les moyens de limiter l’impact des biais générés par le lien avec l’objet de recherche.

Keywords:

• refereeing
• sports study program
• involved researcher
• football

Mots clés:

• arbitrage
• section sportive scolaire
• chercheur-impliqué
• football

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Perreau-Niel, A. Entrer, vivre et sortir de la filière arbitrage football du lycée Joseph Fourier, Thèse de Doctorat en STAPS, Université d’Artois, sous la Direction d’Olivier Chovaux et Carine Erard, en cours.

2. Provisional title.

3. CFA stands for Championnat de France Amateur (French Amateur League), which, at the time, was the fourth federal tier.

4. “Young federal referee,” or jeune arbitre fédéral, is the highest rank awarded to young referees, allowing holders to referee under-17 and under-19 matches at a national level.

5. Interview conducted with Rachid at my home on 12 January 2021.

6. UEFA: Union Européenne des Associations de Football.

7. See Chovaux (2021).

8. Érard, C., et Jacquinot, L. (2011). Juges, arbitres et officiels en Bourgogne, Portraits, histoire et témoignages, Conseil Régional de Bourgogne.

9. Tony Chapron was a Ligue 1 referee from 2005 to 2018. He was also an international referee.

10. Lucie Le Tiec was a regional referee in the Paris league.

11. Bourdieu, P. (1987). Choses dites, Éditions de Minuit.

12. Schotté, M. (2002). Réussite sportive et idéologie du don. Les déterminants sociaux de la « domination » des coureurs marocains dans l’athlétisme français (1980–2000). Staps (57), 21–37.

13. Juskowiak, H. (2019). Un pour mille. L’incertitude de la formation au métier de footballeur professionnel, Artois Presses Université.

14. Note from the headteacher included in the December 2021 career meeting report: “Since passing his competitive exam, Mr. Perreau-Niel has obtained a MASTER 1 and a MASTER 2 and is preparing a doctoral thesis.”

15. Extract from the minutes of the Federal Referee Commission, 16 October 2018: “Email from Mr. Alexandre Perreau-Niel, in his capacity as leader for refereeing in the football sports study program of Joseph Fourier high school in Auxerre and a STAPS doctoral student, communicating a request for support for his university studies on refereeing. The Commission thanks Mr. Perreau-Niel for his email and will forward it to the amateur section of the DTA and the FFF’s Institutional Directorate.”

16. CAPEPS, standing for Certificat d’Aptitude au Professorat d’Éducation Physique et Sportive, is France’s national physical education teaching qualification.

17. The term “specialist” is used to describe teachers applying for this type of position since they must have specific profiles and characteristics, meaning specific competencies, qualifications, and/or skills relevant to the school’s project. In this case, the requirement is to be capable of overseeing the provision of refereeing training to young high school students.

18. The course enables high school students to engage in a triple academic, sporting, and civic project. The civic dimension is incorporated into the PE component, which “aims to develop, through physical, athletic and artistic practice, a flourishing and cultivated citizen capable of making enlightened decisions to engage regularly and independently in an active and social lifestyle.” Common physical education curricula in general and vocational high schools. Decree of 17 January 2019 published in the BO (Bulletin Officiel), special issue no. 1, of 22 January 2019.

19. UFR stands for Unité de Formation et de Recherche and is equivalent to the concept of a university department.

20. National in French: tier immediately below Ligue 2.

21. Interviewees complete the questionnaire themselves, in contrast to an “indirectly administered questionnaire,” in which the interviewer/researcher completes it for them (Quivy & Van Campenhoudt, 1995).

22. The first stage is the analysis of applications, which results in applicants being invited (or not) to attend the recruitment day. The second stage is the recruitment day itself, which involves theoretical and physical tests and an interview. The final stage consists of the approval of the application by a committee chaired by the headteacher.

23. In return for 20 euros paid by the young referee’s family, a host family commits to collecting the student at the station on Sunday evenings (generally more than 50 kilometers away) and to providing accommodation and an evening meal, along with a bedroom and breakfast on Monday mornings.

24. Consistent with Nicole Berthier (2016), the interview guide was developed “As a reminder of the topics to be addressed during the semi-structured interview.”

25. SMS: Short Message System.

26. Telephone interview conducted in 2021. This particular member of the teaching community left the school in 2015 following a transfer to another school.