Brain scans show why rival football fans see the same game differently

WHEN ENGLAND played Columbia in the World Cup, fans complained of a high number of fouls while in South America, a petition was launched for a re-match due to referee bias.

Now scientists have scanned the brains of die-hard football fans to find out why rivals can have vastly different perceptions of the same match.

Manchester Utd and Chelsea fans took part in a University of York study which mapped brain activity as they watched their beloved sides in action against each other. In an MRI scanner, the fans were shown a Match of the Daystyle montage of highlights from games between the two teams.

The study found wide variations between the rivals in the nucleus accumbens, an area central to the brain’s reward system.

Professor Tim Andrews said: “When we compared the brain activity of supporters of the same team and supporters of opposing teams, we found that activity in the sensory regions of the brain were aligned in all participants – or in other words, they all saw and heard the same game.

“But, in the frontal and subcortical regions of the brain – including areas known to be active in reward, self-identity and control of movement – there was a correlation between supporters of the same team, but significant differences between the groups.

“This is what allows fans of rival teams to develop a different understanding of the same game.”