Home advantage of European major football leagues under COVID-19 pandemic

Konaka, Eiji

After March 2020, the environment surrounding football has changed dramatically due to COVID-19 pandemic. After a few months' break, the re-scheduled matches have been held behind the closed door without spectators. The main objective of this study is a quantitative evaluation of"crowd effects"on home advantage, using the match results of the closed matches. The proposed analysis uses pairwise comparison method in order to reduce the effects caused by unbalanced schedule. The following conclusion can be drawn from some statistical hypothesis tests: In four major European leagues, the home advantage is reduced in closed matches compared to normal situation with spectators. The reduction amount among leagues is different. In Germany, it shows the negative home advantage during the closed period. On the other hand, in England, statistically significant difference cannot be found between closed and normal situations.