Empty soccer fields did not change the advantage of the host club. This is evident from a comparison of the results of European football matches before and during Corona. The rulers started blowing their whistles differently.
Previous research into, among other things, Dutch in a German The competition appears to be indicating that the home advantage is completely gone due to empty stadiums. New search now features 1,006 unseen soccer matches from the UK, Germany, France, Spain and ItalyePortugal and Turkey compared to 36,882 games played before the Corona crisis.
This indicates that the home team simply maintains its edge. It is true that local clubs scored slightly fewer goals during the Corona crisis, but this difference was so small that researchers did not dare to draw any conclusions from it. The researchers saw the same picture in a comparison with amateur matches: There is also the presence or absence of an audience that does not appear to be the determining factor for a home advantage. search Published At PLoS ONE.
Influencing judgment
It is different with the rulers. Under normal circumstances, the referees are more likely to whistle for fouls by the visiting team, which is also more likely to receive a yellow or red card from the home team. This difference disappeared during the Corona crisis. Therefore, the referees whistle in a more neutral manner in the empty stadiums.
You might expect a more neutral referee to work in favor of the visiting club – and thus at the expense of the home team – but that is not clear from the match results. Scientists themselves are surprised by this, but they assure that their characters speak for themselves. They are Nosy Whether after the Corona crisis in crowded stadiums, the referees will again start to sound more biased whistles.
So what determines the benefit?
The question, of course, remains what explains the house advantage. This study does not provide any data on this, but other studies highlight potential factors. In this way, local players can become more familiar with the conditions and dimensions of their field, and the conditions prevailing on their court. Certainly in larger countries, it can be an advantage that you do not have to travel to the match. In international matches, the local climate may also be at the expense of the visiting club.
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