Study: The Larger the Home Crowd, the Greater the Advantage

Go ahead and pat yourself on the back. Even if you have never stepped foot on the campus of Harvard University you can claim to be as smart as some of its researches. A new study has been published that reveals something sports fans have known since the dawn of time: home teams have an advantage.

Examining over 5,000 matches in the English Premier League between 1992 and 2006, the Harvard team found that crowd size and home field advantage influenced referee decisions. Shocking, I know.

It found that home teams scored 1.5 goals on average and 1.1 goals while away.

The research also found that away teams were given more penalties, and that for every additional 10,000 fans in the audience, the home team was able to score 0.1 more goals.

The study also found that experienced referees are less likely to be influenced by the crowd than those who are wet behind the ear like, say, a certain Russian referee from Tuesday’s Champions League match.

In other academic research disguised as an excuse to sit on a couch and watch football, a team of researchers have concluded that countries with increased income, population and democracy fare the best at the international football level.

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Category: World Football