Bryson Pope, Brigham Young University
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Purpose of the Project:
The purpose of this research is to further elucidate the effects of one’s personal bias toward members of their own country as seen through the conduit of the amount of bias a soccer referee exhibits toward players of their own nationality. I will also analyze other types of biases as present in language and cultural similarity.
Main Proposal Body:
I have obtained data for every game played in the most extensive and prestigious soccer tournament in Europe, the UEFA Champions League, for the 2001-02 to 2012-13 seasons. Individual data on every player and referee who participated in this competition in during one or more of these seasons is extensive including their name, nationality, whether they started or not, number of minutes played, goals scored, cautionary cards received, and much more. Furthermore game specific data such as the time that each foul was committed, red cards, penalty shots, etc. are all available.
Our results show that there is a benefit to players who are playing in a match where the referee squad is from the same country as that player. For example, if the referee is from Sweden he will perhaps favor a Swedish player by extending fewer penalties committed by the player or extending more penalties suffered by the player. We will also run statistical tests to determine whether or not this bias can be extended to referee-player matchups that are not identical in nationality, but rather have similar cultural index measures or speak the same language.