Mental Health, Decision-Making, and the World Cup Spotlight

This chapter examines refereeing at the men’s and women’s FIFA World Cups as high-stakes, high-visibility work where decision-making, authority, mental health and wellbeing intersect. Drawing on interdisciplinary research, we analyse how stress, crowd dynamics and broadcast/social-media scrutiny shape perceptual judgement, the effects of VAR and selection/evaluation systems on authority, and stigma that can constrain help-seeking. We present evidence on mental health risks and protective factors and propose practice and policy directions including, realistic pressure training, consistent technology protocols, clinical and performance support, and abuse mitigation both online and in-stadium.