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In sports, the home advantage is the higher chance to win a game when playing home, while the referee bias is the referee decision bias in favor of the home team. During the pandemic period, a natural experiment occurred, due to the large number of matches played in absence of spectators. Previous studies examined the effect of spectators on these phenomena on a relatively small number of matches; the present study aimed to explore how the presence/absence of spectators affected these two phenomena on almost 4000 football matches, from the first and second divisions of the UEFA top five ranked federations (Spain, England, Italy, Germany, France) in the 2020-21 season. As for the home advantage, the following variables were examined: distribution of match outcomes and home advantage for points; ball possession; total shots; shots on goal; corner kicks. As for the referee bias, the following variables were considered: fouls; yellow cards; red cards; penalty kicks; extra time. Chi-square tests were used to compare the distribution of match outcomes (vs. previous seasons with spectators), and t-tests to compare home vs. away data in the 2020–21 season for the other variables. The results revealed that the absence of spectators significantly reduced the home advantage compared to previous seasons with spectators; however, a certain amount of home advantage still persists, probably due to the familiarity with local conditions and travel fatigue. The referee bias was not observed, suggesting that it mainly derives from the pressure normally exerted by spectators.
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