From BBC Sport yesterday:
As the full-time whistle blew in Atlanta on Wednesday, signalling England’s exit from the World Cup, a wave of disappointment spread across the country. But for some, there was a very different emotion growing inside. Domestic abuse rises by 26% when England play and by 38% when they lose, according to research by Lancaster University. During a major football tournament such as the World Cup, some women and girls are constantly living in fear.
In Scotland, there is no evidence of domestic violence spikes around football internationals. This aligns with the Tartan Army‘s developed culture and lower arrest rates around matches.
Domestic violence around domestic football matches such as Celtic/Rangers persists in Scotland.
However, the above view is based only on a 2013, St Andrew’s University study and requires updating in the light of these data comparing the levels in Scotland and England & Wales.
From Domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland, 2024-25 published 9 June 2026:
The police recorded 64,967 incidents of domestic abuse in 2024-25, an increase of 2% compared to the previous year. Despite increasing over the latest two years, this figure remains below the peak in 2020-21. https://www.gov.scot/news/domestic-abuse-recorded-by-the-police-in-scotland-2024-25/
The introduction of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 and greater recognition of coercive and controlling behaviour have likely improved identification and recording of some forms of abuse that previously might not have been recorded as such. The statistics show offences under that Act now make up a measurable share of recorded domestic-abuse-related offending. https://www.gov.scot/news/domestic-abuse-recorded-by-the-police-in-scotland-2023-24/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
With 11 times the population, you might expect the figure in England & Wales to have been around 650 000.
The official figure in England & Wales – 1 350 460, twice as high:
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I recall a conversation I had with a researcher who worked with the Violence Reduction Unit, during the four year period when Rangers FC were not in the Premiership. He said that during that period murders and domestic violence had fallen and their research which involved multi-factor statistical approaches identified the absence of Old Firm matches during that period as a factor. One statistic stood out – every OldFirm match could be associated with an additional death by violence in the West of Scotland and the North of Ireland on the day of the match or the following day.
As a non Old Firm football fan of many decades, it is my view that many men who have particular personality traits associate themselves with the clubs because of their success and also because it gives a sense of power and belonging. Smaller and less successful clubs do not have many such men supporting them. When Celtic or Rangers are unsuccessful this impinges on these men’s sense of self respect and the stress causes some to react violently.
I think this applies to fans associated with other, generally successful teams, such as the England national team. Those of us who support Scotland know that we are unlikely to be successful so we have a more sanguine attitude towards defeats. Winning makes us feel good, but losing ….well, c’est la vie.
As a hypothesis, it is limited, but, given the complexity of human personalities I think it has some statistical significance.
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Abused women do not get legal aid. To get away.
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