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During the UEFA European Championships (Euros), held in Germany on 14 June to 14 July, 351 incidents of domestic abuse related to football were recorded by police forces in the UK, according to new data released by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).
A national policing strategy to help forces target serial domestic abusers during the Euros football tournament was launched in June this year. The strategy was produced by the UK’s Football Policing Unit and aimed to equip forces with a proactive, multi-agency approach to safeguard victims and target perpetrators of domestic abuse.
As part of the police activity, forces used intelligence to shortlist known serial domestic abusers with football banning orders to target operational activity, such as proactive patrols and welfare visits to victims.
The strategy also aimed to improve understanding of the link between football tournaments and a rise in domestic abuse. 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.
Data was collected at a national level and will now be further analysed to identify ways to improve the police response to prevent offences, safeguard victims and pursue perpetrators.
Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, NPCC lead for domestic abuse, and Chief Constable Mark Roberts, NPCC Lead Football Policing, said, “We have been working closely with the UK Football Policing Unit to understand the link between domestic abuse and football tournaments. Ahead of the Euros, we initiated a national strategy to support police forces in taking a proactive approach to domestic abuse during the tournament.
“The strategy also collected data on domestic abuse offences which victims felt were a result of the perpetrator’s behaviour around football.
“During the Euros, police forces reported 351* domestic abuse incidents as being football related. This is compared to 193 domestic abuse incidents related to football during the Euros tournament in 2021.
“Collecting data in this area is challenging because we rely on victims disclosing abuse, reporting the link with football where it exists, and accurate information recording across 43 forces. We also know that many victims won’t report abuse to the police, so we do not have the full picture of offending.”
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