- Researchers find fewer of fans means fewer arguments on pitch
- But incidents of self criticism appear to increase
More insight into the weird world of football behind closed doors has arrived from Austria, where research into Red Bull Salzburg matches found a lack of fans off the pitch coincided with a lack of arguments on it.
Researchers from the University of Salzburg studied 20 Salzburg matches, 10 before lockdown and 10 after, to observe the “emotional behaviour and interactions” between players and with officials.
