At the autumn fitness seminar for head and assistant referees, which the Football Federation of Macedonia organized last week, for the first time in football history in general, a fully automated test was conducted that integrates high-intensity running with making and analyzing a referee's decision.

The test that was implemented is actually an innovation in football refereeing. Referees who were part of the seminar became pioneers in the use of technology, which will further help them make better decisions in key moments of matches.

In this complex test that includes sound signals, video clips, an application for making and analyzing a decision, precise movement in the field and other factors, the human influence is completely removed.

The referees, as in a match, need to position themselves in a timely and optimal manner after a certain polygon to the installed screens in order to have the opportunity to see the video (incident) that automatically starts at a certain time interval.

After a short video that is shown only once, the referees are required to make a decision twice: initially via a mobile application (which was developed over the last 15 months here in Macedonia and is now upgraded with additional analytical functions and is used for UEFA's needs) with instant feedback, and a second time using the cards, replicating the process during a real match.

All decisions are analyzed within minutes of completing the test, providing a detailed score of correct answers for each referee, accompanied by the corresponding video clips. Videos with a higher percentage of incorrect answers are immediately reviewed by technical instructors and discussed with the referees.

The Football Federation of Macedonia, through the national fitness coach, intensively participated in UEFA for the creation of this type of testing, which is a state of the art tool for assessing the ability of football referees to make the right decision under pressure.

In the end, the most important are the comments from our referees "This is exactly what we need", "This is probably the future of referee training"!