The 43 police forces in England and Wales reported 351 domestic abuse incidents as being football related during this year’s Euros soccer tournament. That is an 81.9% increase on such cases recorded during the preceding tournament in 2021. But the National Police Chiefs’ Council argues the rise is partly due to better recording by forces and a drive to target serial domestic abusers during the tournament along with a strategy to gather data to better understand the link between football and domestic abuse longer term.
However, collecting data is challenging, council leaders concede, because they rely on victims disclosing abuse, reporting the link with football where it exists, and accurate information being recorded across all forces.
The strategy during the Euros included adopting a proactive, multi-agency approach to safeguard victims and using intelligence to shortlist known serial domestic abusers with football banning orders.
The NPCC stated: “Whilst football does not cause domestic abuse, several factors are thought to exacerbate abusive behaviour during football tournaments, including the increased and prolonged consumption of alcohol around matches.”
■ The NCDV and partner organisations launched an alternative England football kit as part of the ‘No More Injury Time’ campaign to draw attention to the increased risk of domestic abuse during the tournament.
