Biased by color

This paper explores the possibility that the color of a sports team’s kit may influence referee decisions, particularly in relation to yellow and red cards. The paper examines research on color psychology and referee decision-making, including studies involving color and athletic performance. It then compares disciplinary statistics from professional football teams across several major European leagues. The purpose of this paper is not to claim that kit color causes referees to make different decisions, but to explore whether there may be a relationship worth investigating further. The paper also proposes a controlled experiment in which the same team would play under different kit colors while keeping other factors as consistent as possible. This work is an independent research project by Yahia Walid Ayad.