We use ghost matches induced by Covid19 in the Bundesliga, Germany's top two football (soccer) divisions, to investigate whether audiences affect referees. We find that relative to the pre-Covid19 period, the difference between home and away teams in fouls and the number of cards increases. The results provide evidence for a home bias in referee decisions through social pressure.

We use ghost matches induced by Covid19 in the Bundesliga, Germany's top two football (soccer) divisions, to investigate whether audiences affect referees. We find that pre-Covid19 referees gave fewer fouls and yellow cards for the home team relative to the away team. These differences in fouls and cards changed during the ghost matches so that home teams were treated less favorably than before. This effect is concentrated in matches where support for the away team is particularly weak. The results provide evidence for a home bias in referee decisions through social pressure.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to compare the spatial distribution of different types of Airbnb hosts – based on a novel typology – and to investigate their association with neighbourhood characteristics in Brussels. Design/methodology/approach This study describes the location of Airbnb dwellings across the types of hosts and use spatial tests to compare their distributions to the traditional hospitality industry. With regression models, this study examines the relationship between the provision of Airbnb listings and neighbourhood indicators. Findings While different types of hosts offer their listings in the same urban space, they also cover different areas and exhibit different clustering processes. Their locations are associated with structural, socio-economic and demographic neighbourhood characteristics that vary across the types and provide support for the new typology. Research limitations/implications This study focuses on the type of Airbnb hosts and their listings in one year, 2019. It would be worthwhile to apply the typology to other cities and to observe how the distributions change over time, including the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to suggest a finer typology of Airbnb hosts than the regular distinction into professional and non-professional types and reveals how hosts differ in the location of their Airbnbs.

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Germany shows a more welcoming attitude towards refugees than most other European countries. At the same time, the influx of refugees has led to massive protests, demonstrations and attacks against refugees. We look at the economic effects of these demonstrations and attacks on one important industry, namely tourism. Combining a novel, district-level data set on tourism with data on xenophobic activities, we find that xenophobic demonstrations have negative effects on tourist arrivals. This effect is found for domestic and foreign tourists.