EM 2024 - Top performances because of the fans - what is it about the "12th man"?
There is a noise sensitivity issue at the UEFA European Football Championship 2024. At the Decibel Summit, Turkish fans reign supreme, cheering their team so frenetically that success seems inevitable – they play in the quarterfinals on Saturday against the Netherlands.
A completely different picture: After the lackluster 1:1 in the group stage against Switzerland, German national team coach Julian Nagelsmann criticized the passive reactions of the German spectators. An excuse? Or a factor? What influence do fans actually have on a football game?
Fabian Wunderlich is a researcher at the Institute for Training Science and Sport Informatics of the German Sport University in Cologne and deals with sports data. He says: "It is to be assumed that spectators have some influence on the game." He makes this clear with the well-known home advantage, which states that the home team has an easier time winning in their own stadium in front of their fans. For Wunderlich, it is clear: "The home advantage exists, that is, football teams win more frequently in their own stadium than away. There is hardly any effect in sports that is as well documented."
What's behind the home advantage in football
Finding a reason for this is difficult, as one would have to look into the players' heads during the game. According to Wunderlich, various factors are discussed. The familiarity of the environment, the travel fatigue of the away team, or even the hormones that make footballers want to defend their territory. But the influences of the fans on the pros – and the referees. The referees can allegedly be influenced by the volume of the fans' cheers in certain situations, according to Wunderlich. This has been shown in experiments. In fact, away teams receive more yellow cards than home teams. However, there is a big question mark behind the question of whether this is really due to the fans.
Even in the Corona era, when fans were initially not allowed in the stadiums, researchers like Fabian Wunderlich saw this as an opportunity to evaluate the numerous ghost games and found that home teams were still significantly more successful without spectators. However, the home advantage in empty stadiums without spectators was not quite as strong as in games with fans.
However, and this is the bad news for Turkey, the home advantage can quickly turn into a disadvantage. Namely, when the expectation pressure of the frenzied fans leads to "choking under pressure," a term used to describe the phenomenon of failing under pressure.
The phenomenon is indeed a fact. Strangely enough: "In current research, we were able to demonstrate, for example, that in pressure situations, the risk is increased to miss a penalty kick." Bayern Munich can sing a song about it. In 2012, the "Final Dahoam", the Champions League final at home against Chelsea, should have been a home advantage, but turned into a trauma. Bayern led, conceded the equalizer – and lost in the penalty shootout.
The Turkish fans, renowned for their fervent cheering, will undoubtedly be present in large numbers during the quarter-final entry of Turkey at the European Football Championship 2024. Despite the home advantage, Julian Nagelsmann, the German national team coach, expressed concern over the passive reactions of German spectators following a lackluster performance against Switzerland. The home advantage, well-documented in sports, is often attributed to the influence of fans on the players and even referees, with research suggesting that away teams receive more yellow cards due to the fans' volume.
