--- description: Referees rack up the mileage when officiating a soccer match title: World Cup Referees Run 6-8 Miles per Match image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcb1082634d213d64/6986977b13c79f8387192a35/world-cup-referees.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [health](/tag/health/) ## health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # World Cup Refs Run 6 Miles Per Game ## Video: All Brazilian Eyes Are on Soccer Savior Neymar [Watch (HLS stream): All Brazilian Eyes Are on Soccer Savior Neymar](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SUeF5EpZ.m3u8) (2:30)  _Published 2014-06-12. TIME International Editor Bobby Ghosh talks about the pressures that Brazilian soccer star Neymar faces as the 2014 World Cup begins._ by [Hannah Goldberg](/author/hannah-goldberg/) ## Hannah Goldberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 12, 2014 8:39 PM CUT  Assistant referee Toshiyuki Nagi, referee Yuichi Nishimura and assistant referee Toru Sagara of Japan walk on the field at the end of the match during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group A match between Brazil and Croatia at Arena de Sao Paulo on June 12, 2014 in Sao Paulo. Assistant referee Toshiyuki Nagi, referee Yuichi Nishimura and assistant referee Toru Sagara of Japan walk on the field at the end of the match during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group A match between Brazil and Croatia at Arena de Sao Paulo on June 12, 2014 in Sao Paulo.Elsa—Getty Images by [Hannah Goldberg](/author/hannah-goldberg/) ## Hannah Goldberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 12, 2014 8:39 PM CUT _Updated: June 13, 7:17 a.m. ET_ With the FIFA World Cup 2014 now in play, pretty much all the attention is on the [greats](http://time.com/2863230/world-cup-brazil-neymar-savior/ "undefined") and the [underdogs](http://time.com/2860123/world-cup-2014-hello-long-shots/ "undefined") and [the scandals](http://world.time.com/2011/05/31/fifas-deepening-crisis-global-soccers-arab-spring/ "undefined"). But what about the refs? In addition to making tough, often unpopular calls, they are undercover athletes, running as much as 6 miles per game to keep up with the ball,[_Runner’s World_ reports](http://www.runnersworld.com/general-interest/the-running-resume-of-a-world-cup-soccer-referee "undefined"). For the 90 minute games, a referee must stay at least 20 yards from the ball at all times, and with the best soccer players in the world on the field, that adds up to a lot of ball chasing. “The closer we are to the ball, the more credibility we have in our decisions,” Greiger, 39, told the running enthusiast website. He is the first American referee to officiate a World Cup game since 2002. That means refs need to train—hard. The Professional Referee Organization (PRO), which Geiger is part of, has high standard for its refs, pairing them with trainers who lead them in high intensity interval workouts and analyze their “strength levels, explosive levels, \[and\] aerobic levels,” according to _Runner’s World_. And before referees even reach the World Cup pitch, they must complete FIFA’s required fitness test. Maybe during this year’s World Cup, viewers will think about walking a mile in the referees shoes—or six. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2866066/world-cup-referee-running-miles/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2866066/world-cup-referee-running-miles/"},"headline":"World Cup Refs Run 6 Miles Per Game","datePublished":"2014-06-12T20:39:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:23:45.550Z","description":"Referees rack up the mileage when officiating a soccer match","url":"https://time.com/2866066/world-cup-referee-running-miles/","keywords":["health","brazil","Soccer","World Cup","Running"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcb1082634d213d64/6986977b13c79f8387192a35/world-cup-referees.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Hannah Goldberg","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/hannah-goldberg/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcb1082634d213d64/6986977b13c79f8387192a35/world-cup-referees.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Assistant referee Toshiyuki Nagi, referee Yuichi Nishimura and assistant referee Toru Sagara of Japan walk on the field at the end of the match during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group A match between Brazil and Croatia at Arena de Sao Paulo on June 1","caption":"Assistant referee Toshiyuki Nagi, referee Yuichi Nishimura and assistant referee Toru Sagara of Japan walk on the field at the end of the match during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group A match between Brazil and Croatia at Arena de Sao Paulo on June 1","creditText":"Elsa—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/health/","name":"health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2866066/world-cup-referee-running-miles/","name":"World Cup Refs Run 6 Miles Per Game"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"All Brazilian Eyes Are on Soccer Savior Neymar","description":"TIME International Editor Bobby Ghosh talks about the pressures that Brazilian soccer star Neymar faces as the 2014 World Cup begins.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/SUeF5EpZ/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-06-12T18:24:47.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SUeF5EpZ.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/2866066/world-cup-referee-running-miles/","duration":"PT2M30S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/2866066/world-cup-referee-running-miles/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```