We’ve all become accustomed to empty stands and terraces over the past ten months. No atmosphere or supporters willing their side over the line, the fake crowd noise added and muted title celebrations.
This week marks one year since fans last graced soccer stadia. Liverpool’s Champions League tie with Atletico Madrid in Anfield on March 10th 2020 saw 54,000 supporters go through the turnstiles for the final time.
Liverpool yesterday lost a 6th consecutive Premier League game at Anfield over the weekend, the first time in the club’s 129-year history.
Is there a connection? What effect, if any, do empty stadia have on players and referees?
Talking about this is Professor James Reade from the University of Reading who was the co-author of a study on the subject.
You can read the full study by clicking on this link:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3668183
