The strongest verified ref pattern for Mainz in the current sample.
Bundesliga08/23
Ref×team split · N=10
#RefWin ratevs baselineClose gamesOpponent whistle volume minus team volume per game. Positive means your team is whistled less (or the opponent more), a favorable minors/flags edge.
How Mainz compares in one-goal matches vs the full sample. Based on verified match results.
Close games (≤1 goal margin)
101 of 165 games match this window
Avg combined goals
Close-match avg
2.4
Season avg
2.9
Pressure impact
-0.5
Avg cards
Close-match avg
19.9
Season avg
19.2
Pressure impact
+0.7
Over rate
Close-match avg
42.6%
Season avg
54.5%
Pressure impact
-11.9 pp
Over benchmark: 2.9 combined goals · Seasons: 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26 · 165 total games in sample
What am I looking at?
Individual refs: stats for one official across all Mainz games they worked, even with different partners.
Team baseline: Mainz went 54-60 (47.4%) across this sample. Ref win rates show how they compare to that team average.
Whistle differential: who gets called more. A positive number means opponents are whistled more often than Mainz.
Scores, fouls, cards, and referee assignments from ESPN (1282 games, 154 with sportsbook totals). Referee coverage only where ESPN lists gameInfo.officials (2021-22 onward); games without referee names are excluded entirely. football-data.co.uk I1 CSVs lack a Referee column and are not used. Matrix: 402/572 ref×team pairs with 3+ games. 248 games skipped (no official listed).