scholarly journals How does spectator presence affect football? Home advantage remains in European top-class football matches played without spectators during the COVID-19 pandemic

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0248590
Author(s):  
Fabian Wunderlich ◽  
Matthias Weigelt ◽  
Robert Rein ◽  
Daniel Memmert
Keyword(s):  
Driving Factor ◽  
Professional Football ◽  
Home Advantage ◽  
European Football

The present paper investigates factors contributing to the home advantage, by using the exceptional opportunity to study professional football matches played in the absence of spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. More than 40,000 matches before and during the pandemic, including more than 1,000 professional matches without spectators across the main European football leagues, have been analyzed. Results support the notion of a crowd-induced referee bias as the increased sanctioning of away teams disappears in the absence of spectators with regard to fouls (p < .001), yellow cards (p < .001), and red cards (p < .05). Moreover, the match dominance of home teams decreases significantly as indicated by shots (p < .001) and shots on target (p < .01). In terms of the home advantage itself, surprisingly, only a non-significant decrease is found. While the present paper supports prior research with regard to a crowd-induced referee bias, spectators thus do not seem to be the main driving factor of the home advantage. Results from amateur football, being naturally played in absence of a crowd, provide further evidence that the home advantage is predominantly caused by factors not directly or indirectly attributable to a noteworthy number of spectators.

scholarly journals No Fans–No Pressure: Referees in Professional Football During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Christian Leitner ◽  
Fabio Richlan
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Traditional Method ◽  
Social Pressure ◽  
Statistical Analyses ◽  
Professional Football ◽  
Psychological Perspective ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Home Advantage ◽  
European Football ◽  
Potential Impact

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, European elite football (a.k.a. soccer) leagues played the remaining season 2019/20 without or strongly limited attendance of supporters (i.e., “ghost games”). From a sport psychological perspective this situation poses a unique opportunity to investigate the crowd's influence on referee decisions and the associated effect of “home advantage.” A total of 1286 matches–played in the top leagues of Spain, England, Germany, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Austria and the Czech Republic–were analyzed for results, fouls, bookings and reasons for bookings and contrasted between respective matchdays of season 2018/19 (regular attendance) and season 2019/20 (ghost games). Following recent methodological developments in the research on the home advantage effect, four different statistical analyses–including Pollard's traditional method–were used for the assessment of the home advantage effect. There are two main findings. First, home teams were booked significantly more often with yellow cards for committing fouls in ghost games. Most importantly, this effect was independent of the course of the games. In contrast, bookings for other reasons (criticism and unfair sportsmanship) changed similarly for both home and away teams in ghost games. Second, the overall home performance and home advantage effect in the respective elite leagues–identified in the respective matches of the regular 2018/19 season–vanished in the ghost games of the 2019/20 season. We conclude that the lack of supporters in top European football during the COVID-19 pandemic led to decreased social pressure from the ranks on referees, which also had a potential impact on the home advantage. Referees assessed the play of home teams more objectively, leading to increased yellow cards awarded for fouls committed by the home teams. Since there were no significant changes in referee decisions against the away teams, we argue that our observations reflect a reduction of unconscious favoritism of referees for the home teams.

scholarly journals Home advantage during the COVID-19 pandemic: Analyses of European football leagues

2021 ◽  
pp. 102013
Author(s):  
Dane McCarrick ◽  
Merim Bilalic ◽  
Nick Neave ◽  
Sandy Wolfson
Keyword(s):  
Home Advantage ◽  
European Football

scholarly journals FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL INDUSTRY: TRENDS ANALYSIS AND DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (36) ◽  
pp. 471-480
Author(s):  
V. Reikin
Keyword(s):  
Annual Reports ◽  
Professional Football ◽  
Economic Aspects ◽  
Academic Field ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Football Clubs ◽  
Theoretical Generalization ◽  
European Football ◽  
Football Industry ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of the study is the analysis of financial and economic aspects and assessment of current trends and prospects for the development of professional football industry as an independent academic field. In this article the following general scientific and applied methods were used: analysis and comparison — to determine the main trends in the development of top professional football clubs in the context of globalization; generalization — to establish the influence of institutional factors on the economic results of football clubs activity; expert assessments — to determine the market value of players in the global transfer market; abstract and logical methods — for theoretical generalization of the obtained results, forecasting the prospects for the development of European professional football and formulating conclusions of the study.  The article deals with the analysis of financial and economic results of  European football top clubs functioning in the pre-crisis period (before COVID-19). The author emphasizes the dualistic origins of modern professional football, which combines sports and commercial components. It is analyzed the impact of «Bosman case» and the rules of «financial fair play» on the professional football industry development in the context of globalization. The sources and structure of football top clubs income are also analyzed. The main focus is on European football, where current trends are most clearly manifested. The source of information was the annual reports of audit firms, specialized analytical laboratories and FIFA data. As a result of globalization processes, the author predicts the creation of full-fledged «SuperLeague» championship of top clubs with the greatest financial opportunities, as well as the appearence of polycentrism phenomenon in the world football industry. The forecast scenarios of  football industry perspectives, formulated by the author, to substantiate the financial and economic aspects of clubs and players transfer market functioning, can be used in practice to assess the potential and formulate strategies for professional football leagues and clubs.

scholarly journals Locomotor activity of professional football referees

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 37-40
Author(s):  
Y.V. Manilo
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
Motor Activity ◽  
Physical Fitness ◽  
Professional Football ◽  
Moderate Pace ◽  
Total Distance ◽  
Premier League ◽  
European Football

Purpose : To study the structure of the motor activity of foreign (European) football referees qualifications and Ukrainian arbitrators (Premier League, the first, second league). The objectives of the study was to determine the amount and direction of the motor activity of soccer referees. Also perform a comparative analysis of the motor activity of football referees of different qualifications in Europe and Ukraine. Material : The study involved 38 referees - soccer referees first, second, of the Premier League with the different regions of Ukraine, as well as foreign arbitrators FIFA. Results : It was found that in the period of the motor activity of the arbitrator was walking - 13.0% of the total distance when moving, running at a moderate pace - 67.4%, accelerating - 16.7%, jumps - 2.9%. Average per match referee overcomes distance 8970.2 m: foreign arbitrators - 12,030.0 m., Arbitrators Premier League - 9292.5 m., 1 league - 7530.0 m., 2 leagues - 7028.3 m. Ukrainian Premier League referees are inferior to move moderate jogging foreign arbitrators FIFA respectively - 6,425.0 m (69.1%) and 9615.3 m (79.9%). Conclusions : The results of the research showed that the magnitude of motor activity during football matches in professional arbitrators may be different. It depends on their physical fitness Championship (competition), the league, the level of the teams playing, the nature of the intensity of the match. The arbitrator must remain near the gaming moments to control them and prevent possible confrontation.

scholarly journals Home Advantage during the COVID-19 Pandemic in European football

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dane Jamie McCarrick ◽  
Merim Bilalic ◽  
Nicholas Neave ◽  
Sandy Wolfson
Keyword(s):  
Team Performance ◽  
Home Team ◽  
Home Advantage ◽  
European Football ◽  
Multi Level

The home advantage (HA) is a robust phenomenon in soccer whereby the home team wins more games and scores more goals than the away team. One explanation is that the home crowd spurs on home team performance and causes the referee to unconsciously favour the home team. The Covid-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to assess this explanation for HA, as European soccer leagues played part of the 2019/2020 season with crowds present and concluded with crowds absent. Using multi-level modelling we compared team performance and referee decisions pre-Covid (crowd present) and post-Covid (crowd absent) across 9,528 games from 15 leagues in 11 countries. HA (goals scored and points gained) was significantly reduced post pandemic, which reflected the inferior performance of the home team. In addition, referees awarded significantly fewer sanctions against the away teams, and home teams created significantly fewer attacking opportunities when they played without fans.

scholarly journals Time before return to play for the most common injuries in professional football: a 16-year follow-up of the UEFA Elite Club Injury Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 421-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Ekstrand ◽  
Werner Krutsch ◽  
Armin Spreco ◽  
Wart van Zoest ◽  
Craig Roberts ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Injury ◽  
Quadriceps Muscle ◽  
Return To Play ◽  
Professional Football ◽  
Muscle Injuries ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Expected Time ◽  
Football Clubs ◽  
Injury Occurrence ◽  
European Football

ObjectivesThe objective was to describe the typical duration of absence following the most common injury diagnoses in professional football.MethodsInjuries were registered by medical staff members of football clubs participating in the Union of European Football Association Elite Club Injury Study. Duration of absence due to an injury was defined by the number of days that passed between the date of the injury occurrence and the date when the medical team allowed the player to return to full participation. In total, 22 942 injuries registered during 494 team-seasons were included in the study.ResultsThe 31 most common injury diagnoses constituted a total of 78 % of all reported injuries. Most of these injuries were either mild (leading to a median absence of 7 days or less, 6440 cases = 42%) or moderate (median absence: 7–28 days, 56% = 8518 cases) while only few (2% = 311 cases) were severe (median absence of >28 days). The mean duration of absence from training and competition was significantly different (p < 0.05) between index injuries and re-injuries for six diagnoses (Achilles tendon pain, calf muscle injury, groin adductor pain, hamstring muscle injuries and quadriceps muscle injury) with longer absence following re-injuries for all six diagnosesConclusionsThe majority of all time loss due to injuries in professional football stems from injuries with an individual absence of up to 4 weeks. This article can provide guidelines for expected time away from training and competition for the most common injury types as well as for its realistic range.

Supporters, the forgotten chain in Asian football: fandom in the Chinese Super League and the Australian A League

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-14
Author(s):  
Jorge Dorfman Knijnik
Keyword(s):  
Professional Football ◽  
Real Power ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Physical Energy ◽  
Football Fans ◽  
European Football ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Media Channels ◽  
Super League

The Australian League (A-League) and the Chinese Football Association Super League (CSL) have both only been established for just over a decade. However, since their earliest years, their teams have attracted passionate fans. These fans dedicate a great deal of emotional and physical energy to supporting their teams and actively disdain the intense commodification that is embedded in these professional football competitions. Both sets of supporters “fanatically” strive to impress the opposition with vivid animated performances which include songs, chants, flags and massive colourful banners. In doing so, both the Chinese and the Australian fans are in fact mimicking their European ultras counterparts. This paper analyses the origins of the ultras movement in European football and seeks to relate this movement to the Chinese and the Australian active fans. Then, using data collected on the football stands of both countries, combined with a content analysis of the fans’ social media channels, it explores some of the similarities and differences between both groups. It concludes by questioning whether the football fans in Australia and China will have any real power in the corporate and political contexts of Asian football or if their call against “modern football” will remain just a folkloric gesture without any significant political consequences.

Does Player Age Affect the Home Advantage? Coaches’ Perceptions and Data from Professional Football

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niels van de Ven
Keyword(s):  
Professional Experience ◽  
Professional Football ◽  
Home Advantage ◽  
Soccer Teams

We hypothesized that football (soccer) teams with older players perform better in away games. This hypothesis is based on research on the home advantage that shows that feeling more familiar with the playing venue and having a familiar pregame routine are important causes of the home advantage. Older players are relatively more familiar with the location in away games and we therefore predict teams with older players to perform better in those games. We find that coaches (with professional experience) indeed think that older players perform relatively better in away games. Data from the Dutch professional league (N = 3060) confirmed that there was a very small effect: teams with an average higher age performed better in away games (controlling for team quality). Although we do seem to confirm the predicted effect that teams that are on average older do better in away games, this effect is very small.

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