During the last decades, many empirical studies have indicated a
significant influence of noneconomic factors on asset pricing. More
recently, it seems to be acknowledged that international soccer match
results significantly affect subsequent daily returns of national stock
markets via investor sentiment. In this article, we provide
evidence that such observations should be treated with caution. Resuming
a current debate on the link between the performance of England's
national soccer team and FTSE 100 returns, we validate findings made by
Ashton et al. (2011). Our results raise doubts on their conclusions and
emphasize the importance of thoroughly validating empirical results.