Professional football in times of COVID-19: did the home advantage effect disappear in European domestic leagues?

Almeida, Carlos H.; Leite, Werlayne

doi:10.5114/biolsport.2021.104920

Cited by 32 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…This observation was further confirmed in a systematic literature review by Leitner et al (2022) , who identified 26 studies that analyzed the last portion of the 2019–20 season, when all matches were played behind closed doors. Out of these 26 studies, only six did not observe a significant and consistent overall decrease of the home advantage and referee bias in the considered leagues ( Almeida & Werlayne, 2021 ; Benz & Lopez, 2021 ; Krawczyk & Strawinski, 2020 ; Matos et al, 2021 ; Ramchandani & Millar, 2021 ; Wunderlich et al, 2021 ), while the other 20 ones did observe a significant decrease of these phenomena ( Bryson et al, 2021 ; Correia-Oliveira & Andrade-Souza, 2021 ; Cross & Uhrig, 2020 ; Cueva, 2020 ; Dilger & Vischer, 2020 ; Endrich & Gesche, 2020 ; Ferraresi & Gucciardi, 2020 , 2021 ; Fischer & Haucap, 2020 ; Hill & Van Yperen, 2021 ; Jimenez Sanchez & Lavin, 2021 ; Konaka, 2021 ; Leitner & Richlan, 2021a ; Link & Anzer, 2021 ; McCarrick et al, 2021 ; Rovetta & Abate, 2021 ; Santana, Bettega & Dellagrana, 2021 ; Scoppa, 2021 ; Sors et al, 2021 ; Tilp & Thaller, 2020 ). Considering exclusively the peer-reviewed, multi-leagues studies, they found that nine out of 13 studies observed such a decrease ( Bryson et al, 2021 ; Correia-Oliveira & Andrade-Souza, 2021 ; Ferraresi & Gucciardi, 2021 ; Hill & Van Yperen, 2021 ; Jimenez Sanchez & Lavin, 2021 ; Leitner & Richlan, 2021a ; McCarrick et al, 2021 ; Scoppa, 2021 ; Sors et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

A complete season with attendance restrictions confirms the relevant contribution of spectators to home advantage and referee bias in association football

Sors¹,

Grassi²,

Agostini³

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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Background Due to the unfortunate pandemic situation, the phenomena of home advantage and referee bias in sports have recently received a particular research attention, especially in association football. In this regard, several studies were conducted on the last portion of the 2019–20 season: the majority of them suggests a reduction—but not the elimination—of the two phenomena, with some exceptions in which no reduction was found or, at the other extreme, the phenomena were not observed at all. Methods The continuation of the pandemic made it possible to replicate the previous studies considering the complete 2020–21 season, thus with the important added value of having a fully balanced home/away schedule—and a higher number of matches—in the various leagues. In particular, the sample of the present study consisted of 3,898 matches from the first and second divisions of the UEFA top five ranked countries, that is, England, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France. For the home advantage, the following variables were examined: distribution of matches outcomes and home advantage for points (also for previous seasons from the 2014–15 one); ball possession; total shots; shots on goal; and corner kicks. Instead, for he referee bias, the following variables were examined: fouls; yellow cards; red cards; penalty kicks; and extra time. Chi-square tests were used to compare the distribution of matches outcomes, and t-tests to compare home vs. away data for the other variables in the 2020–21 season; Bayesian and equivalence analyses were also conducted. Results The main results are as follows: (a) the distribution of matches outcomes in the 2020–21 season was significantly different from that of the last five complete seasons with spectators (Chi-square = 37.42, df = 2, p < 0.001), with fewer home victories and more away victories; the resulting values of the home advantage for points were 54.95% for the 2020–21 season, and 59.36% for the previous seasons; (b) for the other home advantage variables, a statistically significant overall advantage for the home team emerged; nevertheless, the strength of the differences between home and away teams was generally small (0.09 < Cohen’s d < 0.17), and the corresponding means can be considered statistically equivalent for all variables but the total shots; (c) no statistically significant differences emerged between home and away teams for any of the referee bias variables. Discussion These findings demonstrate that the absence of spectators significantly reduced the home advantage compared to previous seasons with spectators. A slight home advantage persisted in the 2020–21 season, probably due to other factors, namely, learning and travel, according to the model by Courneya & Carron (1992). Conversely, the referee bias was not observed, suggesting that it mainly derives from the pressure normally exerted by spectators.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

A complete season with attendance restrictions confirms the relevant contribution of spectators to home advantage and referee bias in association football

Sors¹,

Grassi²,

Agostini³

et al. 2022

PeerJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In turn, for individual teams, HA can be measured by comparing a single team’s home performance with its away performance (i.e., the percentage a single team’s home wins in relation to all wins, both at home and away) (Pollard & Gomez, 2007b). This measure is always non-negative and varies from 0% (no games won at home) to 100% (no games won away), with a value of 50% representing an equal number of points won at home and away (i.e., no home advantage) ( Almeida & Leite, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on HOME Advantage in Different European Professional Basketball Leagues

et al. 2022

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The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on home advantage (HA) comparing games with the presence of spectators (pre-pandemic) and during ghost games in absence of spectators (post-pandemic). A secondary twofold objective was to analyse the influence of team ability on HA by (i) comparing HA for pre- and post- pandemic and (ii) comparing different team ability levels. Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to identify HA and home wins percentage (HW%) differences between pre-pandemic and post-pandemic games. Additionally, the Kruskal-Wallis test was run to identify HA and HW% differences between team ability levels (High to Low). Teams had higher HA and HW% during pre-pandemic than post-pandemic. In turn, low level teams present higher HA compared to the other team ability levels. Thus, low level teams are more benefited from playing at their home-court, resulting in a higher chance of winning comparing with playing away. However, for HW% low level teams showed lower HW% than medium and high team ability levels, showing that when a team is considerably weaker than the opponent, then this difference in ability will outweigh HA and the stronger team is likely to win both at home and away.

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“…Conversely, Matos et al (2021) examined HA in the Portuguese major soccer league and did not find changes due to the absence of the crowd, either in the comparison with games from the 2019/2020 season or in the comparison with previous seasons. Almeida and Leite (2021) also reported divergent results for several European leagues due to the absence of crowds in the stadiums. While HA was reduced in some leagues, the absence of the crowd support did not seem to affect HA in others.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Did the Absence of Crowd Support During the Covid-19 Pandemic Affect the Home Advantage in Brazilian Elite Soccer?

Ribeiro¹,

Fonseca²,

Costa³

et al. 2022

Journal of Human Kinetics

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This study aimed to investigate the impact of crowd absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic on home advantage in Series A and B of professional Brazilian male soccer. Moreover, we sought to compare the home advantage between different competitive levels. Data from 2018 to 2020 Brazilian professional soccer championships (Series A and B) were analyzed, consisting of 2280 matches. The effect of home advantage was calculated in relation to the number of points won, the number of wins, goals scored and goals conceded. Our results indicated that home advantage was reduced in Serie A. Specifically, the 2020 (absence of the crowd) and 2019 seasons showed smaller home advantage compared to the 2018 season. On the other hand, Serie B analyses indicated no changes in home advantage over the seasons analyzed. The comparison of home advantage between competitive levels indicated higher home advantage in Serie A, exclusively in the 2018 season. In addition to the absence of fans, other changes occurred in elite sports due to the pandemic, such as changes in rules and the calendar. Considering that home advantage is affected by multiple interacting factors, it is important to investigate specific sports leagues across the world to determine which factors had the greatest impact on the advantage of playing home matches.

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Professional football in times of COVID-19: did the home advantage effect disappear in European domestic leagues?

Cited by 32 publications

References 23 publications

A complete season with attendance restrictions confirms the relevant contribution of spectators to home advantage and referee bias in association football

A complete season with attendance restrictions confirms the relevant contribution of spectators to home advantage and referee bias in association football

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on HOME Advantage in Different European Professional Basketball Leagues

Did the Absence of Crowd Support During the Covid-19 Pandemic Affect the Home Advantage in Brazilian Elite Soccer?

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