Refs Are Biased: Report

Referees were less likely to penalize the team of their own country and would punish the opposite team, said Dr. Lionel Page, of the Judge Business School at Cambridge University.

, --July 30, 2010

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By JAVIER ESPINOZA LONDON—It's official: referees are biased.
An academic report in the U.K. has revealed what many sport aficionados have always suspected: referees are influenced by their nationality when it comes to making decisions on the pitch. After analyzing two major rugby competitions of opposing clubs from different countries—rugby union's Super 14 and rugby league's Super League—the researchers discovered that when the referee shared the same nationality as one of the teams playing, they were more prone to giving their nation's team a significant advantage. More...

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