Goalkeepers wearing red more likely to save penalties

IT IS a garment that could hand a football team a crucial advantage as an opposition striker threatens to score from the penalty spot.

Researchers have discovered goalkeepers who wear red jerseys, like Rangers' Neil Alexander, are more likely to prevail in the drama of a penalty shootout

Researchers have discovered goalkeepers who wear red jerseys are more likely to prevail in the drama of a spot-kick shootout. They believe the colour has a subconscious influence on the perception of failure, causing many of those charged with booting the ball into the back of the net to fluff their effort.

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The study, which will be presented today at a gathering of psychologists, has found that strikers are likely to miss half of spot-kicks when confronted by a keeper clad in red.

The researchers at the University of Chichester asked 40 university footballers to try their luck from the penalty spot, only for an average of 20 per cent more shots to be missed when the stopper was wearing the vital colour.

Dr Iain Greenlees, who led the research, said: "The stimulus of red may put players off because of evolutional responses to the colour denoting danger. These findings lend support to the idea red clothing could give a sportsperson or team a small but meaningful advantage in a competitive encounter."

The most notable Scottish goalkeeper to play in red is Rangers player Allan McGregor. His side lead the Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League, with the fewest goals conceded in the division.

John Ritchie, a goalkeeping coach who works with the Scottish Football Association's youth teams, told The Scotsman that bright colours helped a goalkeeper stand out and maintain an imposing stature.

He said: "When you're in goal, you always want to have a presence, and wearing red colours would help you do that."

Mr Ritchie, whose playing career included spells between the sticks with Dundee United and Bradford City, added: "Red is a popular colour and it's positive. That's important for a goalkeeper. You want to feel positive and comfortable in what you're wearing."

In the study, each of the participants took 20 penalties – ten against a goalkeeper wearing a black shirt and ten against a goalkeeper wearing either blue, yellow, green or red. The shorts were always black. They were also asked to estimate how many penalties out of ten they would score and give a confidence rating for their prediction.

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Although there was no difference in how many goals a striker believed he would score, the fewest went in against a goalie in red (54 per cent).

This was followed by yellow (69 per cent) with no significant difference between blue and green, which had success rates of 72 per cent and 75 per cent respectively.

Dr Greenlees, who will present his findings at a British Psychological Society conference in Stratford-upon-Avon, said that while red was not the norm for goalkeepers, teams would be best advised to try a change in colour.

The England national side, which has struggled over the years to emerge victorious from penalty shootouts, could benefit in particular, he said.

"Previous research has suggested football teams in red enjoy more success than those whose home shirt is yellow, white or blue, but this is the first to look at the impact on goalkeepers.

"It is unusual for a goalkeeper to wear a red shirt as they tend to go for a more neutral colour that is unlikely to clash with the opposition. But if England want to be successful at the World Cup, they must leave no stone unturned – which means even changing the goalkeeper's shirt."

He added: "We were surprised by the effect of a red shirt, which was far greater than could be expected by chance – fewer than five-and-a-half penalties out of ten scored compared with more than seven in ten when the goalkeeper was wearing a different shirt."