The World Cup has kicked off in Qatar and with emotions running high for fans there is a fear that domestic violence cases will rise.
Data conducted by the National Centre for Domestic Violence shows reported incidents increased by 26 percent when England play, 38 percent if England lose, and 11 percent the next day regardless of the result.
Alcohol is central in English football fan culture and experts have long blamed alcohol as a factor in the rise of domestic abuse during football matches.
A time pattern has shown that the violence usually peaks during the three hours of the game.
Although these statistics are notoriously difficult to study as they are recorded against the number of incidents reported to police during the game.
Kate Brown, CPS Domestic Abuse lead, said: “There is no excuse for domestic abuse.
“Watching football should be a time when people can enjoy and share their passion for their favourite team, but sadly, the game is marred by this tragic reality.
“There is no hiding behind football as a reason for such cowardly and cruel abuse – and we are determined to see dangerous abusers prosecuted.”
Cases are expected to rise during the World Cup in this festive period – where domestic cases inevitably rise anyway.
At peak times the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) direct team can receive between 70 and 80 calls per hour.
Tomorrow is ‘White Ribbon Day’ lead by White Ribbon UK – which is dedicated to raising awareness on domestic violence and urging society to take action.
If you are suffering with domestic abuse get help here or contact the police.
Main image credit: Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
