Dirty Air, Dirty Play: The Effect of Air Pollution on Sabotage in Tournaments

Michael Hirsch () and Christian Grund ()
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Michael Hirsch: RWTH Aachen University
Christian Grund: RWTH Aachen University

No 18512, IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER

Abstract: In this study, we examine the influence of air pollution, measured by particulate matter concentration (PM_10 and PM_2.5), on sabotage in rank order tournaments. To achieve this, we use player-level data from German Soccer Bundesliga players between 2009 and 2024, which we link with hourly pollution values on the exact match location and kick-off time. This research design addresses key identification problems in estimating the effect of air pollution on non-health outcomes. Our results suggest that an increase in particulate matter concentration has a statistically significant effect on destructive efforts (i.e. competitive sabotage), measured in fouls committed by a player. If particulate matter pollution measured in PM_10 (PM_2.5) increases by 10 μg/m^3, the number of fouls committed increases by 0.6% (0.9%). We also find strong evidence that this effect is driven primarily by players from weaker teams (underdogs).

Keywords: air pollution; sabotage; tournaments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J83 L83 M5 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-04
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