One rule for some — another for everyone else

It has been a quiet hobby horse of mine for a while — at least quiet in the sense that I badgered anyone that would listen about it, but was never likely to attempt the legwork involved in researching the matter.

But now a study at the University of Birmingham claims that Premier League decisions are indeed influenced by a player’s ethnicity or nationality.

Having analysed 760 games during the ’06-’07 and ’07-’08 seasons, the study claimed that black overseas players are 15% more likely to have yellow and red card decisions go against them than white Englishmen.