Study blows whistle on referees

Every football fan suspects it but no one has proved it - until now. After hours of research, two academics from the University of Surrey have demonstrated that referees really do favour the home team.

Neil Rickman and Robert Witt investigated the length of injury time added at the end of second halfs. They found that when the home team is leading by a single goal at 90 minutes, referees tend to add on fewer minutes.

By contrast, when the away team is ahead by one goal, injury time is an average of 35 seconds longer - giving the home side more chance of an equaliser. The findings, published by the Centre for Economic Policy Research, suggest that pressure from home fans influences referees' decisions.