"The Reality of Ethical Climate and Its Relationship with Decision-Making among Football Referees from the Coaches' Perspective"

Abstract

This research aims to uncover the relationship between ethical climate and decision-making among football referees from the perspective of coaches. The research problem stemmed from the researchers’ observations during their work in coaching and managing teams, where it became evident that referees play a pivotal role in achieving the goals of sports federations. The researchers also observed that the prevailing ethical climate between the administrative body and referees on one hand, and between referees and coaches on the other, is a crucial factor in fostering mutual trust, sustaining success, and achieving objectives. The researchers adopted the descriptive methodology using the correlational approach, as it is appropriate for the nature of the problem. The research population consisted of 160 participants affiliated with the Iraqi Football Federation. The sample was divided into two groups: the first included 70 coaches for the purpose of adapting the ethical climate scale, and the second comprised 90 coaches for developing the decision-making scale. The research tools—namely, the ethical climate scale for the administrative body and the referees’ decision-making scale—were constructed and refined. After applying the tools and analyzing the results, it was found that the sample participants exhibited an above-average level in both variables. The results also revealed a positive correlation between ethical climate and decision-making; in other words, an improvement in the ethical climate is associated with an enhanced level of decision-making among referees.