Referees penalize tall players more often: it's all due to the 'Napoleon complex'

Research has shown that referees are more likely to penalize players who are taller than themselves. This phenomenon is linked to the so-called 'short man's syndrome'. Referees tend to show yellow cards to players whose height exceeds their own, especially early in the match when they are trying to assert their authority.

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An analysis of data from 2,340 Bundesliga matches showed that players taller than the referee receive 9.4% more fouls and are 7.2% more likely to receive a yellow card compared to those at eye level with the referee. The greater the height difference, the higher the likelihood of a foul being called, especially in the early minutes of the game. Conversely, players shorter than the referee are 12.3% less likely to commit fouls and 16.5% less likely to receive a yellow card.

This result corroborates earlier research findings, which showed that referees shorter than 182 cm are more prone to showing cards than their taller counterparts.

The authors of the study believe that height-based bias might also be prevalent in other areas of life, such as corporate structures and hiring processes.