Italian referees draw more frequently yellow cards e rossi against black footballers than those with lighter skin. This was revealed by a study published in the journal Sociology: from 2009 to 2019, the race directors of the A league they have called 20% more fouls per season against darker-skinned players, with 11% more yellow cards and 16% more red cards.
The authors of the study “Racial Bias in Fans and Officials: Evidence from the Italian Serie A“, Beatrice Magistro and Morgan Wack, explain that «with the same team, season, position, minutes played and tackles attempted, players with darker skin are called more fouls and given more cards (both red and yellow). the authors also argue that racist chants and howls from fans can influence referees: during the Covid pandemic, with stadiums closed, the data collected indicate that there is no substantial difference in the treatment reserved for football players.
For their article in Sociology magazine, published by the British Sociological Association, Magistro and Wack analyzed the statistics of every Serie A match between 2009 and 2021. They used data from FootyStats, WhoScored and FBref on tackles, fouls and cards, while to define the skin color of the players they used the 20 categories in which the players are cataloged by the video game Football Manager, an extremely avant-garde simulator also used by professional clubs.
Italy’s referees punish more dark-skinned footballers than light
— The Guardian (@guardian) February 25, 2023