Fouls go left: Soccer referees may be biased based on play's direction of motion
Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - 21:14
in Psychology & Sociology
Soccer referees may have an unconscious bias towards calling fouls based on a play's direction of motion, according to a new study. Researchers found that soccer experts made more foul calls when action moved right-to-left, or leftward, compared to left-to-right or rightward action, suggesting that two referees watching the same play from different vantage points may be inclined to make a different call.