Analysis System for Emotional Behavior in Football (ASEB-F): matches of FC Red Bull Salzburg without supporters during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic the “Austrian Bundesliga”—as in many other European football leagues—resumed the season around the end of May 2020 without supporters in the stadiums. These so-called “ghost games” represent a unique and unprecedented opportunity to study the effects of the (missing) audience on the behavior and experience of sports professionals. The present study is the first of its kind, aimed at addressing the psychological effects of these “ghost games” on football players, staff, and officials. The newly developed “Analysis System for Emotional Behavior in Football” (ASEB-F) was used to video analyze and compare the behavior of players, staff, and officials in—in sum—20 games of FC Red Bull Salzburg in the “Championship Groups” of season 2018/19 (“regular games”) and season 2019/20 (“ghost games”). Additionally, the two seasons were compared based on official matchday statistics. Overall, there were 19.5% fewer emotional situations in “ghost games” than in “regular games”. The results further show a relative increase in the number of emotional behaviors “Self-Adaptor” (+0.8%), “Protest” (+4.2%), and “Fair-Play-Behavior” (+3.1%) in “ghost games”, whereas “Words fight” (−5.1%) and “Discussion” (−5.1%) decreased in “ghost games”. In “regular games” referees were actively involved in 39.4% of all documented emotional situations, whereas in “ghost games” referees were actively involved in only 25.2% of all documented emotional situations (−14.2%). Chronological analysis within games—from kick-on to kick-off—further shows substantial differences in the temporal occurrence of emotional behavior between “regular games” and “ghost games”. The study provides unprecedented insights into the effects of missing supporters in the football games during the COVID-19 pandemic on emotional behavior on the pitch. Without the external factor of supporters, players and staff acted more factually and got less carried away with longer-lasting and extensive “Words fights” and “Discussion”. The evidence from this study indicates that—from a sport psychological perspective—the absence of supporters has a substantial influence on the experience and behavior of players, staff, and officials alike.

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

“…Our findings on significantly decreased yellow cards awarded for unfair sportsmanship are in line with results from recent research, where it was found that ghost games have an overall calming effect on players, staff and officials, with an increase in fair-play behavior (Leitner and Richlan, 2021 ). Regarding the significant increase in yellow cards awarded for criticism, we argue that this represents another effect which was also found in the same study: referees tend to engage themselves significantly less during protest or words fight behavior with players.…”

“…This effect could result in increased (dysfunctional) aggressive behavior, which, in turn, results in more fierce tackles, fouls and ultimately in more bookings for fouls. This hypothesis, however, is contradictory to results from a recent study, which shows that about 20% fewer emotional situations can be observed between players, coaches, and referees due to the lack of an audience (Leitner and Richlan, 2021 ). Similarly, we cannot rule out the possibility that other factors have changed during ghost games that have contributed to a flattening of the home advantage.…”

“…Overall, most of these studies indicate that the home advantage tends to decline when games are played behind closed doors (Bryson et al, 2020 ; Dilger and Vischer, 2020 ; Fischer and Haucap, 2020 ; Follert et al, 2020 ; McCarrick et al, 2020 ; Sors et al, 2020 ; Hill and Van Yperen, 2021 ; Konaka, 2021 ; Leitner et al, 2021 ; Sánchez and Lavín, 2021 ; Santana et al, 2021 ; Scoppa, 2021 ; Wunderlich et al, 2021 ). In this context, Bryson et al ( 2020 ) state e.g., that “ without a crowd, fewer cards were awarded to the away teams, reducing home advantage [and that] these results have implications for the influence of social pressure and crowds on the neutrality of decisions.” Other findings indicate that ghost games might also have a direct effect on the (non-verbal) behavior of professional football players, staff and officials on pitch during games (Leitner and Richlan, 2021 ). The authors found 19.5% fewer emotional situations in ghost games than in “regular games” (with fans present), meaning that players, staff and officials got less involved in behavior like “words fights” and “discussions” with each other.…”

The Cauldron Has Cooled Down: A Systematic Literature Review on Home Advantage in Football during the COVID-19 Pandemic from a Socio- Economic and Psychological Perspective

“…In addition to economic issues, such as the viability of clubs without spectator revenues, the changed stadium atmosphere is particularly striking. Already at the beginning of the pandemic, there was anecdotal evidence that the behavior of players changed, e.g., toward referees, and recent studies indicate that the missing crowd indeed has an impact on the (nonverbal) behavior of players, staff and referees (Leitner & Richlan, 2021b).…”

“…Besides qualitative interviews and self-report questionnaires, a promising approach was recently put forward by Leitner & Richlan (2021b). Their "Analysis System for Emotional Behavior in Football" (ASEB-F) is a video-based categorical analysis system of nonverbal behavior during football matches.…”