Lanky footballers who regularly find themselves on the wrong side of the referee may in fact be totally innocent, according to scientists.
Experts investigating the value of video referees in football matches, found that super-tall players often find themselves victims of subconscious prejudice from officials.
Dr. Steffen Giessner and Dr. Niels van Quaquebeke, from Rotterdam's Erasmus University, analysed seven years of European Champions League and German Bundesliga competitions, alongside the last three World Cup competitions.
In total 123,844 fouls were judged "ambiguous" by officials, and scientists found that in a staggering number of cases, the taller of two players was found guilty of foul play.
Dr van Quaquebeke and Dr Giessner, experts in sports psychology wanted to investigate whether refs are able to make unbiased decisions in the absense of conclusive proof.
The study was designed to build on the University's earlier research which revealed a subconscious association between physical size and aggression.
And results confirmed that taller players are more likely to be perceived by referees as foul perpetrators and their smaller opponents as victims, even when no foul was actually committed.
Dr Van Quaquebeke said: "We chose football as the context of our studies because the sport often yields ambiguous foul situations in which it is difficult to determine the perpetrator.
"In such situations referees must rely on their instincts to make a call, and often use a player’s height as an additional decision making cue.
"With the current debate about referee assistance technology, we hope to answer vital questions in order to help officials weigh up their options."
The full findings will be published in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology in February.
Stefan, UK around 2 years ago