If you suspect referees are biased, you now have a study to back your claims.
Professors working for the Journal of Sports Sciences examined the officiating in 365 college games during the 2004-05 season. They found that the refs are big on "make-up" calls and make more calls against teams in the lead. The discrepancy grows if the game is on national TV, meaning the guys in striped shirts know they are being watched.
Teams that are more aggressive defensively might be whistled for a few fouls early, but by game's end the foul count will even out.
Other findings:
- The probability of a foul being called on the visiting team was 7% higher.
- When the home team is leading, the probability of the next foul being called on them was about 6.3 percentage points higher than when the home team was trailing.
- When the home team had five or more fouls than the visiting team, there was a 69% chance the visiting team would be whistled for the next foul.
Irv Brown, a former official who worked six Final Fours and was supervisor of officials for the Western Athletic and Big Sky conferences, said there is substance to the study.
"As an official, you get the reputation that you’re tough on the road, and that’s what you want," he said. "But it takes a lot of years. You have to get established. Some guys who aren’t established, you’ll see them out there, trying to take some of the heat off, trying to take care of the home crowd."
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