Leicester City fans haven’t had much to smile about this season.
At the time of writing, the Foxes are 19th in the Premier League table and have lost seven games in a row.
It’s this sort of form that would expect a fanbase to lose faith in a manager, however, the majority of Leicester fans want Ruud van Nistelrooy to stay.
The Foxes have signed one player this transfer window and look no closer to bringing anyone else in despite reports of another loan being taken out by Leicester.
Reading all of that, you’d think that the club’s luck had ran out already and relegation back to the Championship is inevitable. But, new data has shown that it is quite the opposite.
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Leicester City are one of the biggest beneficiaries from refereeing errors this season
When things are going wrong for a team, the first port of call is usually to highlight refereeing decisions that you think have gone against you.
As a side at the bottom of the table, you’d expect Leicester have felt hard done by at some of the decisions that have gone their way, but, they really have no reason to complain.
Data compiled by ESPN shows that the Foxes have been the biggest beneficiaries from refereeing errors this season.
Only Everton have the same amount of decisions go in their favour, with the Foxes and Toffees both sitting on four and yet to have a call made against them that is wrong.
| Club | Refereeing Errors For/Against |
| Everton | 4 |
| Leicester City | 4 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 3 |
| Fulham | 2 |
| Arsenal | 1 |
| Liverpool | 1 |
| Brentford | 0 |
| Crystal Palace | 0 |
| Manchester City | 0 |
| Newcastle United | 0 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 0 |
| West Ham United | 0 |
| Bournemouth | -1 |
| Nottingham Forest | -1 |
| Wolves | -1 |
| Chelsea | -2 |
| Ipswich Town | -2 |
| Manchester United | -2 |
| Southampton | -2 |
| Aston Villa | -4 |
All of these decisions have been looked at by the Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel and they have spotted four separate incidents.
The first of those was the failure to award Southampton a penalty after Jordan Ayew pulled on the shirt of Paul Onuachu in the Foxes’ 3-2 win at St Mary’s Stadium.
Kieran McKenna highlighted two incidents alone in the Ipswich Town draw, and the KMI were in agreement.
They said Ipswich should’ve had a penalty for Abdul Fatawu’s foul and that Kalvin Phillips shouldn’t have been sent off for a second yellow card.
Wilfred Ndidi also should’ve been sent off against Chelsea for a late foul in what turned out to be Steve Cooper’s final game in charge.
What is the KMI panel?
The KMI panel was introduced by the Premier League three years ago to provide an assessment on key decisions during a game from afar.
Before then, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) were in charge but clubs often argued that the stats were compiled to favour the officials.
Five people are part of the KMI team and include: three former players and/or coaches, one representative for the Premier League, and one for PGMOL.
Each of them is given a vote across two categories: the referee’s original decision, and whether the VAR should intervene. A simple majority is required for right or wrong.
These rulings don’t affect the result of a game and can’t change the way a game is officiated, but are used to highlight where improvement is needed.