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Twelve eyes see more than eight. Referee bias and the introduction of additional assistant referees in soccer

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  • Verstraeten, Olivier
  • Baert, Stijn

Abstract

We are the first to investigate whether the introduction of additional assistant referees in the UEFA Europa League (in season 2009-2010) and the UEFA Champions League (in season 2010-2011) was associated with lower referee bias. To this end, we analyse a unique database with pre- and within-game characteristics of all games in seven recent seasons in these leagues by means of bivariate probit regression models. We find evidence for substantial referee bias before the introduction of additional referees, while no such evidence is found after the introduction. Furthermore, additional assistants go hand in hand with more yellow cards for both home and away teams. We show that these findings are robust to multiple operationalisations of referee bias and that they are not just picking up a general time evolution towards less referee bias or the effect of parallel reforms.

Suggested Citation

  • Verstraeten, Olivier & Baert, Stijn, 2019. "Twelve eyes see more than eight. Referee bias and the introduction of additional assistant referees in soccer," GLO Discussion Paper Series 313, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:glodps:313
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    Cited by:

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    2. Simon Amez & Stijn Baert & Brecht Neyt & Maarten Vandemaele, 2020. "No evidence for second leg home advantage in recent seasons of European soccer cups," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(2), pages 156-160, January.
    3. J. James Reade & Dominik Schreyer & Carl Singleton, 2022. "Eliminating supportive crowds reduces referee bias," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(3), pages 1416-1436, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Soccer; referee bias; assistant referees; bivariate probit model; UEFA Champions League; UEFA Europa League;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism
    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations
    • Z00 - Other Special Topics - - General - - - General

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