Eliminating supportive crowds reduces referee bias

Reade, J. J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8610-530X, Schreyer, D. and Singleton, C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8247-8830 (2022) Eliminating supportive crowds reduces referee bias. Economic Inquiry, 60 (3). pp. 1416-1436. ISSN 1465-7295 doi: 10.1111/ecin.13063

Abstract/Summary

We use a series of historical natural experiments in association football to test whether social pressure from a home stadium crowd affected behaviour and outcomes. The standout effect of an empty stadium was that referees cautioned visiting players less often, by over a third of a yellow card per match or once for every twenty-two fouls committed. Stadium crowds caused referees to favour the home team in their decision making. Empty stadiums appear to have reduced the overall home advantage in the final outcomes of football matches, but we cannot statistically reject no effect.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/101715
Identification Number/DOI	10.1111/ecin.13063
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Politics, Economics and International Relations > Economics
Uncontrolled Keywords	Home Advantage, Referee Bias, Social Pressure, Attendance, Natural Experiments, Coronavirus
Publisher	Wiley
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