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Catch Me If You Can

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  • Vladimir Hlasny
  • Sascha Kolaric

Abstract

The central hypothesis of this study is that relationships develop systematically between referees and teams and affect referees’ decisions. Referees’ travel distance to respective stadiums and count of matches refereed for respective teams are used to measure long-term relationships. We find some evidence that the count of referee–team interactions affects disciplinary cautions in lower divisions of the English Football League. This is less evident in higher divisions where, however, distances between referees’ hometowns and stadiums appear to play a role. The influence of distance further increases with the extent of referees’ experience with the respective teams.

Suggested Citation

  • Vladimir Hlasny & Sascha Kolaric, 2017. "Catch Me If You Can," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 18(6), pages 560-591, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:18:y:2017:i:6:p:560-591
    DOI: 10.1177/1527002515588955
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    9. Edoardo Gallo & Thomas Grund & J. James Reade, 2013. "Punishing the Foreigner: Implicit Discrimination in the Premier League Based on Oppositional Identity," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 75(1), pages 136-156, February.
    10. Babatunde Buraimo & David Forrest & Robert Simmons, 2010. "The 12th man?: refereeing bias in English and German soccer," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 173(2), pages 431-449, April.
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    Cited by:

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    4. Stijn Baert & Simon Amez, 2018. "No better moment to score a goal than just before half time? A soccer myth statistically tested," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, March.

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