Players (n聽=聽94), fans (n聽=聽116) and referees (n聽=聽163) completed a ten-item questionnaire on which they rated the contribution of the most prominent factors known to influence the home advantage.
Factor analysis revealed three subscales (officials, player state and home environment) relating to explanations for the home advantage. A MANOVA examining the groups鈥?ratings for these three subscales found that the fans and player gave higher ratings for the contribution of officials and player state than did referees, while the fans gave higher ratings for the home environment.
The present study provides an insight into conceptualisations of the home advantage from the perspectives of different football groups. The relevance of self-enhancement, emanating from motivational and information processing mechanisms, is considered.