This article references domestic abuse.
The Men’s European Football Championships are nearly underway, and after the Lionesses stormed to the World Cup finals last summer, we have high expectations for the men’s side.
After reaching the quarter-finals of the Men’s World Cup in 2022 – and following a shock loss against Iceland during a pre-tournament friendly – tension is mounting as to whether the England men’s squad is up to the challenge.
Sadly, the tension won’t be limited to the pitch. By now, you may have heard the oft-repeated statistic that domestic violence increases by 38% when the England team lose, peaking around 10 hours after kick-off. For many people in abusive relationships, major footballing competitions, such as the Euros, signal the start of intense periods of fear and anxiety at the hands of their partner.
This statistic is based on a relatively small study from 2014, which reported instances of intimate partner violence across three World Cup tournaments. Due to the nature of domestic abuse, which is often considered a “hidden crime”, it’s feasible that this statistic is merely the tip of the iceberg regarding domestic abuse incidents during major football tournaments.
That’s why social agency The Wild by Jungle has partnered with Solace, the National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV), Karen Bryson MBE, and Four Nine have launched a nationwide campaign, ‘No More Injury Time’, to highlight this disturbing threat.
Discussing the campaign, Nahar Choudhury, CEO of Solace, said: “At Solace, many of us love football, and we’re looking forward to supporting England at the Euros, but we know that for many women, tournaments like this can be terrifying.
“Women experience domestic abuse all year round, but with heightened tensions and disappointments, many abusers will take out their frustrations on their partner.”
The Home Office has also previously launched a campaign with GOAL as part of the ‘Enough.’ campaign – developed with Women’s Aid – to “raise awareness of football-related abuse towards women in England and Wales” and to promote the idea that “the responsibility to end domestic violence and sexual harassment against women and girls lies amongst our men and boys.”
The campaign was fronted by Josh Denzel, who spoke to GLAMOUR about why football has become such a hotbed for misogyny and – more importantly – how men can intervene to ensure that sexist attitudes have no place within the so-called beautiful game.
Let’s get one thing straight: perpetrators are solely responsible for the violence they choose to inflict on their partners, regardless of what sport they enjoy watching. However, the culture of misogyny that appears to be rife within men’s football warrants further investigation.
Speaking to GLAMOUR, Denzel highlighted that football has long been considered a “boy’s club” where people just aren’t being called out for sexist behaviours. Ten years ago, he adds, “if there was a song or a chant or some banter going around in a group chat […] no one has been really standing up and saying, ‘Do you know what mate? I think that’s a bit out of line.’ It really can spill over from the football life into your personal life and your home life as well.”
“A culture that ridicules women will inevitably foster an environment which endangers them.”
Sure, chants and the like could be considered “banter,” but a culture that ridicules women will inevitably foster an environment which endangers them. Speaking to the Financial Times about banter in the workplace, Laura Bates – the founder of Everyday Sexism – said, “If you have a culture where the low-level stuff is brushed off and accepted, that normalises and smooths the way for more serious abuses not to be taken seriously.”