08/28/2026
⚽ Verbal abuse of officials has long been dismissed as an unavoidable aspect of sport. But when the pandemic led many youth and adult soccer referees to leave the game, the cost of that culture became impossible to ignore. Brandon Frith (MA ’24), a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education, is examining how this abuse affects the mental health of soccer referees in Canada.
💡 Frith is a longtime player and elite-level soccer coach who combines first-hand experience with an evidence-based approach to supporting referee well-being and the long-term future of the sport. His research shows that widespread mistreatment leads to higher rates of depression and anxiety.
🔗 Read the article: https://bit.ly/4y6gcTP
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