The second leg home advantage: Evidence from European football cup competitions

Abstract

The home advantage is a widely acknowledged sporting phenomenon, especially in association football. Here, we examine the second leg home advantage, an effect that is discussed in the public domain but which has received very little scientific attention. The second leg home advantage effect occurs when on average teams are more likely to win a two-stage knock-out competition when they play at home in the second leg. That is, both teams have a home advantage but this advantage is significantly greater for the team that plays at home second. Examining data from three different European Cup football competitions spanning 51 years, we show that the second leg home advantage is a real phenomenon. The second leg home team has more than a 50% probability to qualify for the next round in the competition even after controlling for extra time and team ability as possible alternative explanations. The second leg home advantage appears, however, to have decreased significantly over the past decade. Possible reasons for its existence and subsequent decline are presented.     

Worldwide regional variations in home advantage in association football

Abstract

Home advantage plays an important part in determining the result of a game of football. Its existence and magnitude is well documented in England, but its causes are still not completely understood. In this study, reliable estimates of home advantage are calculated for the domestic leagues of all countries of Europe and South America, as well as a selection of countries from other continents. The results of all games during the last six seasons are used for each of these 72 countries. In Europe, home advantage in the Balkan countries, especially Bosnia and Albania, is much higher than average. It is generally lower than average in northern Europe, from the Baltic republics, through Scandinavia to the British Isles. In South America, home advantage is high in the Andean countries and lower elsewhere, especially in Uruguay. Home advantage is not unusually high or low in any of the countries from other continents. A multiple regression model for the 51 European countries, which included variables for geographical location, crowd effects and travel, accounted for 76.7% of the variability in home advantage. The large geographical variations can be interpreted in terms of territoriality being a contributing factor to home advantage.     

Worldwide regional variations in home advantage in association football

Home advantage plays an important part in determining the result of a game of football. Its existence and magnitude is well documented in England, but its causes are still not completely understood. In this study, reliable estimates of home advantage are calculated for the domestic leagues of all countries of Europe and South America, as well as a selection of countries from other continents. The results of all games during the last six seasons are used for each of these 72 countries. In Europe, home advantage in the Balkan countries, especially Bosnia and Albania, is much higher than average. It is generally lower than average in northern Europe, from the Baltic republics, through Scandinavia to the British Isles. In South America, home advantage is high in the Andean countries and lower elsewhere, especially in Uruguay. Home advantage is not unusually high or low in any of the countries from other continents. A multiple regression model for the 51 European countries, which included variables for geographical location, crowd effects and travel, accounted for 76.7% of the variability in home advantage. The large geographical variations can be interpreted in terms of territoriality being a contributing factor to home advantage.     

Referee bias contributes to home advantage in English Premiership football

Officiating bias is thought to contribute to home advantage. Recent research has shown that sports with subjective officiating tend to experience greater home advantage and that referees' decisions can be influenced by crowd noise, but little work has been done to examine whether individual referees vary in their home bias or whether biased decisions contribute to overall home advantage. We develop an ordinal regression model to determine whether various measures of home advantage are affected by the official for the match and by crowd size while controlling for team ability. We examine 5244 English Premier League (EPL) match results involving 50 referees and find that home bias differs between referees. Individual referees give significantly different levels of home advantage, measured as goal differential between the home and away teams, although the significance of this result depends on one referee with a particularly high home advantage (an outlier). Referees vary significantly and robustly in their yellow card and penalty differentials even excluding the outlier. These results confirm that referees are responsible for some of the observed home advantage in the EPL and suggest that home advantage is dependent on the subjective decisions of referees that vary between individuals. We hypothesize that individual referees respond differently to factors such as crowd noise and suggest further research looking at referees' psychological and behavioural responses to biased crowds.     

Referee bias contributes to home advantage in English Premiership football

Abstract

Officiating bias is thought to contribute to home advantage. Recent research has shown that sports with subjective officiating tend to experience greater home advantage and that referees' decisions can be influenced by crowd noise, but little work has been done to examine whether individual referees vary in their home bias or whether biased decisions contribute to overall home advantage. We develop an ordinal regression model to determine whether various measures of home advantage are affected by the official for the match and by crowd size while controlling for team ability. We examine 5244 English Premier League (EPL) match results involving 50 referees and find that home bias differs between referees. Individual referees give significantly different levels of home advantage, measured as goal differential between the home and away teams, although the significance of this result depends on one referee with a particularly high home advantage (an outlier). Referees vary significantly and robustly in their yellow card and penalty differentials even excluding the outlier. These results confirm that referees are responsible for some of the observed home advantage in the EPL and suggest that home advantage is dependent on the subjective decisions of referees that vary between individuals. We hypothesize that individual referees respond differently to factors such as crowd noise and suggest further research looking at referees' psychological and behavioural responses to biased crowds.     

The home advantage in sport competitions: Courneya and Carron's (1992) conceptual framework a decade later

This paper had three aims. The first was to review research carried out on the home advantage from 1992 to the present. The second was to examine the extent to which a conceptual framework proposed by Courneya and Carron (1992) was/is viable as a tool to highlight and organize an understanding of the home advantage. The final aim was to provide suggestions for future research.     

The home advantage in sport competitions: Courneya and Carron's (1992) conceptual framework a decade later

This paper had three aims. The first was to review research carried out on the home advantage from 1992 to the present. The second was to examine the extent to which a conceptual framework proposed by Courneya and Carron () was/is viable as a tool to highlight and organize an understanding of the home advantage. The final aim was to provide suggestions for future research.     

The impact of referee training: reflections on the reduction of home advantage in association football

The effect of increased development and professionalization in elite Association Football referee training and the relationship with reduced home advantage in the English professional leagues were examined. The central aim was to chart the evolution of referee training, and how these developments in referee training have assisted in reducing home advantage. Interviews were conducted with elite and ex-elite referees, as well as those involved in the management, training and administration of elite referees in order to identify more recent adaptations to elite referee training and further explain the relationship between training and the reduction in home advantage. Findings indicate training and support is pronounced within elite refereeing has developed appreciably over time, and has contributed significantly to an increase in performance, decision-making correctness and subsequent decline in home advantage.     

Television match officials,referees, and home advantage: Evidence from the European Rugby Cup

The regulation of on-field competition by officials is an important aspect of the management of sport. Increasingly, sports are providing technological support for officials to aid their decision making. In this paper, the authors analyse the impact of such an innovation by exploring the impact of the introduction and subsequent extended role of the television match official on the award of sanctionable offences of players in matches played in the group stages of the European Rugby Cup (ERC) and European Rugby Champions Cup (ERCC) over 15 seasons from 2000/01 to 2015/16. Rugby Union is an important sport to reflect upon because of the central role that the referee plays in rule interpretation and game management and the level of home advantage tends to be relatively high in the sport. Indeed, 65% of all matches in the sample analysed resulted in home wins. Results suggest that crowd effects and referee experience influence referee decisions, but the effects vary depending on the type of incident being considered. The main finding and contribution of the paper is that the introduction of the television match official has influenced the incidence of sanctions issued to both teams. However, the increase in the number of yellow cards awarded to away teams implies that home bias has increased since the introduction of the television match official. This suggests that referees may have been consciously or unconsciously seeking to avoid contributing to home bias before the introduction of a further official who is remote from the effects of the crowd. Recognising that such an adjustment takes place according to the circumstances is important information for the training of officials; particularly as a television match official may not be present in all games that they will referee.     

Home advantage in speed skating: evidence from individual data

Home advantage is a well-documented phenomenon in many sports. Home advantage has been shown to exist for team sports (soccer, hockey, football, baseball, basketball) and for countries organizing sports tournaments like the Olympics and World Cup Soccer. There is also some evidence for home advantage in some individual sports, but there is a much more limited literature. This paper addresses the issue of home advantage in speed skating. From a methodological point of view, it is difficult to identify home advantage, because skaters vary in their abilities and the conditions of tournaments vary. There is a small but significant home advantage using a generalized linear mixed model, with random effects for skaters and fixed effects for skating rinks and seasons. Even though the home advantage effect exists, it is very small when compared to variation in skating times due to differences of rinks and individual abilities.     

The extent and causes of home advantage: Some recent insights

The effect of strategy instruction on response time in a sequential keypressing task was compared during acquisition and retention. Specifically, this study determined the influence of: (1) an awareness strategy, (2) a non‐awareness strategy, (3) a Five‐Step Approach strategy and (4) a control condition. Sixty‐four subjects completed 250 trials of nine sequential keypresses, and 50 trials of a dual task (keypresses and verbal report). Faster response times were found for the Five‐Step Approach and non‐awareness strategies during both acquisition and retention. Introducing beginners to strategies that are used by highly skilled performers facilitated response times.     

Reduced home advantage for basketball teams from capital cities in Europe

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the home advantage effect in professional basketball leagues in Europe, especially the differences in home advantage between capital city teams and other teams in each country. All the teams (n=159) of seven national professional basketball leagues were studied (Bulgaria, Greece, Lithuania, Romania, Russia, Spain, and Turkey) and classified as capital city teams or other teams. The data (n=7432 games) were gathered for six seasons (2003–2004 to 2008–2009). The results confirmed the existence of a home advantage effect in all seven basketball leagues. There was a significant difference (P<0.001) between the leagues, with home advantage highest in Romania (65.10%) and Greece (65.02%), and lowest in Turkey (58.12%) and Lithuania (56.13%). The results also show that capital city teams experienced lower home advantage compared with other teams in all seven countries. After controlling for team ability, this was statistically significant for Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and Turkey (all P<0.05), but not for Lithuania, Russia or Spain (all P>0.10). These results are consistent with previous studies in football, which suggested that teams playing in capital cities in Europe had lower home advantage than those playing elsewhere. Possible reasons for this finding include a diminished sense of being part of a cohesive local community when playing in a capital city, a lower sense of territorial protection and, for the away team, a lessened feeling of unfamiliarity.     

The European sectoral social dialogue committee in professional football: power relations,legitimacy and control

By analysing the political arena of the European Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee in the Professional Football Sector, the aim of this paper is to offer a better understanding of the Committee and its opportunities and prospects. First and foremost, the normative, legal context of the Committee precludes the conclusion of agreements that deviate from the Fédération Internationale de Football Association transfer rules or are contrary to European Union (EU) law. Furthermore, while EU involvement in the matter of social dialogue in professional football is democratically legitimate, the lack of solid support from the European Parliament and the Council is problematic. Most importantly, the power relations between the actors are a decisive element for the prospects of the Committee. After analysing the added value of the Committee for the respective actors, it is clear that currently, hopes for a wider bargaining agreement in professional football are not realistic.     

Spanish football: from underachievers to world beaters

Spain, for long considered the glorious underachievers of world football, have in the last five years made a spectacular transition. From having a solitary European Championship win in 1964, they have won the last three major international tournaments they have appeared in. This achievement has evoked comparisons with some of the world’s greatest teams. Yet, it was not always so good for Spain; ravaged by the civil war and with infighting amongst different regions, Spain struggled on the international arena despite two immense clubs in Barcelona and Real Madrid. In recent years, the football team has risen above these divisions and ironically, given the long-standing tensions between Catalonia and Spain, the core of their success has been through players from FC Barcelona, the Catalan-based powerhouse. A major catalyst in Spain’s stunning rejuvenation as an international football powerhouse has been midfielder Xavi Hernandez. The interesting fact about Xavi is that not only is he a fabulous player who would have surely won more accolades if he were not in the shadow of Lionel Messi, but also that he is a born and bred Catalan. It is of great interest that the region, with which Spain has had its most bitter relationship, has provided Spain the core of players that has driven them to glory for the last five years.     

Compensating tendencies in penalty kick decisions of referees in professional football: evidence from the German Bundesliga 1963-2006

Using a large representative database (12,902 matches from the top professional football league in Germany), I show that the number (441) of two-penalty matches is larger than expected by chance, and that among these 441 matches there are considerably more matches in which each team is awarded one penalty than would be expected on the basis of independent penalty kick decisions (odds ratio = 11.2, relative risk = 6.34). Additional analyses based on the score in the match before a penalty is awarded and on the timing of penalties, suggest that awarding a first penalty to one team raises the referee's penalty evidence criterion for the same team, and lowers the corresponding criterion for the other team.     

The football club: spaces for capital accumulation

This paper focuses on the various forms of capital that are used and accumulated through the interactions and development of an amateur football team specifically in relation to issues around social class. Formed by the author in 2009, the team plays in an amateur Sunday football league and is based in a public house in the North East of England, UK. The overall purpose of this study is to assess the transformative potential of the team through various interactions that members have through different spaces and times. A key influence for the research developed from an initial year’s experience within the club where many interesting issues and situations arose for me as a football manager and what Jarvie calls a ‘public intellectual’. For the purpose of this paper, Bourdieu’s explanation of cultural fields, cultural capital, social capital and symbolic capital will be adopted in a critique of how players acquire status via forms of ‘legitimised capital’ considered important to football players in the research setting. Attention is also drawn to the various uses of capital by the researcher in his role as manager/coach. Empirical data are incorporated in a discussion of sites and expressions of capital and how these inform processes of transformation through sport. These empirical data are in the form of extensive diary entries collected over two years. Drawing upon Murray’s work, the structured format of this journal covers the four areas of observational notes, theoretical notes, methodological notes and personal notes.     

关于欧盟足球运动员转会费规则的竞争法思考

转会费规则是欧洲足球运动员转会制度的基础,博斯曼案件后取消了转会费,并确立了新的转会规则,其目的是为了确保球员自由流动,促进竞争.但是由于新转会规则没有考察竞争法的政策目标,导致大量的转会费转变为球员的薪金,造成俱乐部球队贫富悬殊,足球市场上的竞争反倒减弱了,资源没有得到优化配置,消费者福利也随之减少.     

The Muslim football player and Ramadan: current challenges

Islam is a monotheistic Abrahamic faith characterised by devotional orthopraxy. The actions expected of followers of Islam are closely prescribed in the Qur'an. Muslims understand Ramadan as a mandatory requirement, excused only in the event of illness, infirmity or extremes of age. Due to the increasing popularity of football among Muslims, more and more Muslim football players of all levels make the decision to follow the Ramadan fast while they need to practise and compete. Sports medicine clinicians and scientists have the responsibility to provide them with the knowledge and evidence on how exactly Ramadan fasting impacts on their performance and how to optimise their eating, drinking and sleeping in order to minimise negative effects of their religious practice, should any have been demonstrated. The first International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) Medical Assessment and Research Centre (F-MARC) study concluded that biochemical, nutritional, subjective well-being and performance variables were not adversely affected in young male national level players who followed Ramadan fasting in a controlled environment. Match performance was however not measured and the study did not include elite level players, leading to the Ramadan consensus meeting in order to answer the remaining questions. The conclusions and recommendations published in this supplement suggest that the best coping strategies will remain individual - as is the choice to fast.     

Start hard,finish better: further evidence for the reversal of the RAE advantage

The relative age effect (RAE) has been highlighted extensively within literature as influencing selection and identification within sports. However, this initial bias appears to not be systemic in some talent development systems. Accordingly, we report an investigation into the initial identification, selection and conversion of academy players from professional Rugby Union and Cricket at national level. Reflecting previous studies, data again demonstrated a reversal of RAE advantage whereby relatively young players from both sports were less likely to be selected into their respective national academy systems but were more likely to transition into senior national squads. On the basis of our observations, we further propose a psychological explanation for the mechanism of such a reversal, based on the influence of additional challenge experienced throughout the development journey. As such, we also highlight the need for further qualitative investigation to explore this phenomenon in greater depth.