‎Do referee officials always have a fair advantage?

[EluguHcman]

‎I wanted to know if you have ever seen it the same way that indeed, referee officials have a fair advantage in any game or tournament which of course always favor their favorite team to win or you have a better opinion on the matter?

Referees in the sport games are meant to be fair with both teams with no essence to have a favourite so that they can carry on their officiating duties smoothly without being biased.
However, there are still shady referees who does not have the reputability even as profession to regulate the match with a personal zero interest.

Their esteemed of biasness is usually accorded to bribery or personal hatred for a team of players which in ever way of such actions is apparently against the policy's.
Some referees duly ends their careers over such attitudes of not being fair because they can no longer be justified with the essence why they stands in-between both teams to oversee their activities as the judge.

[mcdouglasx]

‎I wanted to know if you have ever seen it the same way that indeed, referee officials have a fair advantage in any game or tournament which of course always favor their favorite team to win or you have a better opinion on the matter?
‎

Sometimes we tend to be biased towards the referee because of their decisions in a match, especially when they are hurting our bet, but this doesn't always mean that the referee has been bribed, or that they have a bias. Sometimes referees simply make mistakes, or they simply have a criterion according to how to evaluate certain types of matches. A very clear example is when two teams play very aggressively; in these types of matches, referees are a little more permissive with the aggression, setting the bar a little higher.

[Queen uloma]

Referees are not supposed to be biased, especially when you're officiating, they ain't suppose to favour any team, they're there for a balance treatment, not for them to be partial, or showing favour to one particular club, during the Afcon match between Nigeria and Morocco that  was a true definition of a referee that is biased,  anyone that watch that match will understand what I'm saying, a referee role is supposed to be neutral, I know they're also humans, they automatically make mistakes most times it can be pressure from any of the team.

[SOKO-DEKE]

 
‎I wanted to know if you have ever seen it the same way that indeed, referee officials have a fair advantage in any game or tournament which of course always favor their favorite team to win or you have a better opinion on the matter?
‎

The point is that sometimes it is not that referees are trying to favor their favorite teams,it is just a mistake sometimes, and no human being is above mistakes. But some people just view it as if some referees are doing it intentionally. To be honest, sometimes it is not intentional. But it is very possible that there are some referees who may be doing that; if that is so, they are supposed to be punished for that kind of thing.

Many matches that I saw had some people complaining that some referees are in favor of some teams. It is because what the referee did is not in favor of their teams. Many people react and blame some referees for what did not deserve blame. For example, sometimes I see that some referees do not favor my team when I look at how they officiate, but when I look at some things clearly, I always see that it is just a small mistake and we are all human. So it is not intentional that some referees act in those ways.

[uchegod-21]

It seems as though referees now are above punishments. The recent AFCON match between Nigeria and Morocco, involving the Ghanaian referee says alot. Till date, the ref has faced no sanction for his errors which were very obvious for everyone to see. We shouldn't pretend that there have been transparency all along. Referees who are bias should risk their entire career and not allowed to walk free like it's normal.

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

Things like this make many to believe or think about fixed matches in sports, but being well considerable enough, we should know that some of these judgements they made are not being influenced, even though at some point in time, we may feels like they were, so i don't want to believe if football could be one of those games that could experience such and the referees too  br that careless to risk their job on fair advantage.

[programmer3666]

That's a fact!! Refereeing is made to be objective but the truth is that human psychology can not be removed from the game even with the aid of VAR so decisions can still be influenced by personal bias, the heavy pressure from the fans and the reputation of certain teams and players as well but that does not still means referees are corrupt in any way, but it clearly proves that fairness is not that much of a guarantee. The only thing we can hope for is improvement in technologies that are being used and accountability to reduce those biases as much as possible.

[Salahmu]

‎Refereeing as an officiate duty is supposed to be objective even with the initiative of VAR/relay technology to make it more efficient and accurate as possible, but we can't rule out the human psychology and systemic factors that can create a perceived advantage.
‎It is strictly forbidden for a referee to consciously favor any team as it could mean the end of the career of such a referee found wanting, still, a well documented scientific researched phenomenon, doesn't rule out the subconscious bias which can interfere in a referee's decision and create the perceived advantage I am talking about.
‎
‎I wanted to know if you have ever seen it the same way that indeed, referee officials have a fair advantage in any game or tournament which of course always favor their favorite team to win or you have a better opinion on the matter?
‎

Let's go for the mistake angle, even with the technology in soccer mistake is not inevitable because is not all the time referee knows what happened, sometimes a congested areas they did not see what occurs between the players they would just read the emotions and give the side that expresses to be victim. All the referees understand there is no favourite club for them at there point of officiating so even if there club they fan is the one playing they wouldn't side for them, they all make mistakes but they are not against any side, all this big league doesn't bring an officiating referee without knowing his experience. The national leagues are the ones that has some favouritism officiating referee.

[Sammye3]

‎I wanted to know if you have ever seen it the same way that indeed, referee officials have a fair advantage in any game or tournament which of course always favor their favorite team to win or you have a better opinion on the matter?
‎

Of course, the referee's decision would always affect the outcome of the match as it could only be different if the favored team does not make good use of the opportunity to make a difference.

An example could be seen in the match between Nigeria and Morocco where it was clearly seen that the referee favored the host country over Nigeria in every given situation. Nigeria struggled with the poor officiating till the end and they ended everything with a loss at the penalties.

With the right ruling, the outcome would have being a bit different and maybe Nigeria would have won the match. Though both teams played very well, it was still a partial decision by the referee which led to prolonged arguments and wasted time, and it all went down in favor of the host country.

[lionheart78]

‎
‎I wanted to know if you have ever seen it the same way that indeed, referee officials have a fair advantage in any game or tournament which of course always favor their favorite team to win or you have a better opinion on the matter?
‎

You can just watch the latest Southeast Asian Games, and you can see lots of biased calls by the referee.  In a sport where referee decisions have an effect on the result, a referee's biased calls have huge impact on the game.

It is obvious that when a referee gives a biased call, it is either that the referee is paid or favors a certain group.  In the event I stated, it is obvious that the referee is favoring the host's player.  Indeed, there are times when the referee makes a wrong call, but having lots of them favoring a certain team in a single game is surely suspicious.

[Mia Chloe]

That's a fact!! Refereeing is made to be objective but the truth is that human psychology can not be removed from the game even with the aid of VAR so decisions can still be influenced by personal bias, the heavy pressure from the fans and the reputation of certain teams and players as well but that does not still means referees are corrupt in any way, but it clearly proves that fairness is not that much of a guarantee. The only thing we can hope for is improvement in technologies that are being used and accountability to reduce those biases as much as possible.

No game is a hundred percent fair that's why rules exist in the first place it's just to make sure that people are able to refer back to them to try to clear objections. Sometimes I believe refereeing can be bias in  some cases but to a huge extent it also depends on the match and teams involved.

Aside this viewers psychology has a role to play too in how people see the judgement depending on if they support the team or they're against it.

[Numeral]

It would be difficult to comment on all referees, and it would not be entirely objective. However, some referees, probably a minority, may in certain situations allow themselves (perhaps for valid reasons, or perhaps not) to judge in favor of a particular team. Some people actually lose their careers for this if there is evidence and the refereeing mistakes were obvious and deliberate.

From the point of view of sports betting, we can also take this factor into account. If the referee who will be judging the match is suspected of having judged in someone's favor, then it is probably better to stay away from this match altogether and not bet on anything. It is better to choose games with neutral referees, about whom either something good or nothing has been written in the public domain.

[suzanne5223]

Professionalism differs from favoritism, and you said it yourself that it is strictly forbidden for a referee to show favoritism due to wanting a certain team to win, which could be the end of the referee's career.
I believe this clearly shows that the referee has no fair advantage to favor a certain team over another.
The referee that indulge in such practise should report to FIFA with evidence, they will look into it, and if the referee is found guilty s/he will be penalize.

[Odogwu-Blockchain]

There was a recent news about a referee been banned out of football in the Russian league, if I am not mistaken. I heard the referee place a prediction on a match he officiate in, making the match favors him.

He was immediately banned from football after a thorough investigation was done on him.

[iv4n]

‎I wanted to know if you have ever seen it the same way that indeed, referee officials have a fair advantage in any game or tournament which of course always favor their favorite team to win or you have a better opinion on the matter?
‎

If the referee favors a team, he is not doing his job right. If he gets caught, there can be consequences... he is risking his career, and if he is involved in match-fixing, he can even end up in jail. It's rare, but even that happened here & there:

🇧🇷 Edílson Pereira de Carvalho (Brazil, 2005)

A top Brazilian referee.

Fixed matches in Brazil’s Série A and Série B.

Took bribes from a betting syndicate to influence results.

Sentenced to prison (6+ years) for fraud and corruption.

Matches he refereed were annulled and replayed.

🇩🇪 Robert Hoyzer (Germany, 2004–2005)

German referee involved in fixing matches (DFB-Pokal and lower leagues).

Took money to influence outcomes.

Part of a wider betting corruption scandal.

Sentenced to 2 years and 5 months in prison.

Banned for life from football.

Referees must be neutral, but in reality, it's probably pretty hard to be completely neutral. And somehow, some of them often manage to be "lucky or unlucky" for some teams.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

‎
‎I wanted to know if you have ever seen it the same way that indeed, referee officials have a fair advantage in any game or tournament which of course always favor their favorite team to win or you have a better opinion on the matter?
‎

They are supposed to be fair and not favoring any team during a match that they will call. Unfortunately, some of them are not doing their job, and we can only speculate that they could be just wanting a certain team to win on the games that they are officiating.

There was one instance of a referee in the NBA, that is into gambling and so when games that he will officiate, he will put a bet or he will rely information to other individuals to bet on games that he will be the referee. So that itself changes the outcome of the game itself.

[rbynxx]

  I wanted to know if you have ever seen it the same way that indeed, referee officials have a fair advantage in any game or tournament which of course always favor their favorite team to win or you have a better opinion on the matter?

I guess they are, it's just they seems to be unfair because you're gambling and the calls aren't that favorable on your aide since you're bettingdon the team that didn't make a good call to your team. It's always the gambling side that makes them unfair but let's not make it complicated.

[skarais]

‎I wanted to know if you have ever seen it the same way that indeed, referee officials have a fair advantage in any game or tournament which of course always favor their favorite team to win or you have a better opinion on the matter?

According to the rules, referees must clearly act professionally towards everyone regardless of their status, but in practice this can be different. We have seen so many examples where referees are being unfair on the field because of the favorite team, some of them even try to defeat the favorite team to benefit the other favorite team. The referee bribery case has happened before, so I won't demand too much that all referees' performance is completely clean and professional.

In La Liga, we all know that several teams have begun to protest against refereeing decisions that they consider unfair. Real Madrid and Barcelona are sometimes also victims, but both are also often teams that benefit from referees. Referees are human too, so when they lose their morale because of money, it's not surprising.

[giammangiato]

 
‎I wanted to know if you have ever seen it the same way that indeed, referee officials have a fair advantage in any game or tournament which of course always favor their favorite team to win or you have a better opinion on the matter?
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Referees have a great responsibility for the outcome of matches, maintaining impartiality is really difficult in three specific cases.
Case number 1 the referee is impartial if he clearly favors a team out of sympathy or is simply a better team in that match.
Case number 2 the referee simply referees a match and as he sees it the situation trying to be balanced favors (for his vision) one of the two teams (errors of evaluation)
Case number 3 the most odious, the referee agrees with one of the teams to favor in exchange for money or gifts (actual case where the referee received watches, telephone, trips and many other gifts as gifts).
A key role is that of the referee that not everyone can play.

[Gozie51]

‎
‎I wanted to know if you have ever seen it the same way that indeed, referee officials have a fair advantage in any game or tournament which of course always favor their favorite team to win or you have a better opinion on the matter?
‎

We are humans and referees are not excluded which is why the VAR technology was introduced and it is serving its purpose and taking away the human nature in football. Whether that is good or not is an argument for another day. But talking about referees being human beings, there are some minor offenses that we don't expect the referee to see because most of such offense happen like speed of electricity. For example things like ball to hand, tackles on the touch line where ball will hit the player and confuse referee etc, those unintentional fouls are not easy to pick and if a referee sleeps on them especially when it happens at the midfield or position far from goal post, for me I don't really hold it against the referee when the incidents is few or if he left it as advantage.

However, it is unfair for referee to favour a particular team just as we saw in Morocco and Senegal. They had undue advantage as host team but at the end, they lost.