For years, we have come to understand the message that domestic abuse rises when England loses a football game. But a recent closer look at the figures shows that, actually, the biggest spikes come not in defeat, but in victory.
Content warning: This article contains mentions of domestic abuse.
As we reach the end of the first week of the World Cup and the world looks to the US to see how their country performs, there is a darker side to the event. Mexico and South Africa kicked off events on 11th June, and England saw to a 4-2 win last night, but some people would have been dreading the 37-day tournament.
Looking back to 2022, England lost to France on 10th December with a 1-2 defeat that left English fans devastated as we did not come home – again. That day, the Metropolitan Police received 467 emergency ‘999’ calls to report domestic abuse, with only 67% of those attended to by police.
This was alongside 131 ordinary ‘101’ calls to report the same abuse, of which 57% were attended. A total of 598 calls then, and for the sceptics out there, 388 deemed worth attending by police.
For comparison, take the same date in a non-World Cup year – 10th December 2021 – the total was 522, meaning there was a rise of 76 calls on the day of the England game.
Across the years 2019-2022, the 25th of December is the only other day when the call-in numbers get above 500. In 2018, the National Centre for Domestic Abuse (NCDV) said: “Domestic Violence and the World Cup are closely linked, with reported incidents increasing by 26% if England plays, 38% if England loses, and 11% the next day, win or lose.”
However, statistics have begun to change with a new, and surprising, pattern evolving: domestic abuse statistics are even worse when England wins. An article in Social Science and Medicine published in 2021 described it as “the England win effect” – with clear links between winning, alcohol and abuse.
It reads: “The number of reported alcohol-related domestic abuse cases increases by 47% following an England football victory.
“This effect is limited to alcohol-related cases.”
Even worse: “World Cup wins have the strongest effect on the number of domestic abuse incidents”.
These recent findings add extra weight to the recent backlash of Reform MP, Sarah Pochin. Pochin posted a video this week telling the team to keep winning for the sake of women, warning that “on the occasions that England lose their football matches, the incidents of domestic violence go through the roof”, and captioning it: “For the sake of women’s safety, we need England to keep winning”.
Pochin has swiftly received a large amount of backlash from fellow MPs, activists and the general public. Bridget Phillipson, the women and equalities minister, replied: “Men should not beat up women.” Labour’s Stella Creasy made the point that abuse rises whether England win or lose, and that tackling it “shouldn’t depend on the score line”.
Speaking to a victim of abuse during the 2018 World Cup, who was 28 at the time, Joanne* acknowledged that she likes football and, indeed, the World Cup, but remembers the evening when England had won the quarter-final.
Joanne highlighted that people had been drinking from lunchtime and how “during the game it was a really good day, everyone was happy, we were all jumping about when we scored and then we won, which was obviously very exciting”.
It was only when the group wanted to take the celebrations elsewhere and the interviewee chose not to go, that she realised the mood had changed: “he just turned”.
Starting with verbal abuse, and moving to physical assault, including strangulation, her partner attacked her whilst accusing her of ruining his day, his celebrations.
“That’s when I stopped trying to talk him down, because once it’s started, there’s no talking”. When asked about the following day, Joanne said: “Oh, the next day he was lovely. Literally couldn’t do enough…which messes with your head more than the abuse itself because they are so apologetic, and it becomes quite normal to just be like, well, it’s not him, it’s just the alcohol.”
This was the first time she had been attacked by her partner, and she reflectively can see that the link is clear: “The World Cup is a huge trigger, and men can get really rowdy and wound up. That was the first time he actually put his hands on me”.
Joanne still defends the sport but adds, “I just don’t think people realise how much the culture around it affects people. I actually get quite sad about football culture because I really like it”.
Unfortunately, the data available from the MET police is only for the month of December 2019-22, so there are no publicly available statistics on the call-ins for when England won 3-0 against Wales on 29th November 2022. They have received a Freedom of Information Request and have apologised for a delay in response.
The NCDV wrote more on this in their March 2026 newsletter, which further emphasised the link between an England win, alcohol and abuse.
Supported by research published in the Journal of Public Economics in 2024, they wrote: “More recent large-scale economic analysis similarly highlights the importance of alcohol exposure and match timing, suggesting longer post-match drinking windows may help explain spikes.” The UK is not alone in this issue – the problem is international, as is the association with alcohol.
We know England will play at 9pm and 10pm GMT time this year, with the NCDV concerned this will further exacerbate the risk: “The timing of the games this year are potentially problematic for those already at risk, due to the potential for people to use alcohol post and prior to matches.”
They concluded their March Pulse Newsletter: “When the nation celebrates, not everyone will be celebrating at home”.
Depressingly, the NCDV must prepare for this by putting in safeguarding plans ahead of time.
Charlotte Hazell-Caldwell, Head of Training and Development at the NCDV, said: “The 2026 World Cup should be all about the beautiful game, but sadly it’s likely to bring a spike in domestic abuse incidents.
“We urge everyone to drink responsibly and behave prudently, so that every member of the family can safely enjoy football.
“There is never an excuse for abuse.”
Refuge Charity have launched a petition called ‘Show domestic abuse the red card’ to encourage people to stand united against abuse, whether England play, win, lose or draw.
If you are affected by anything in this article, in the UK you can call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or Galop’s National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans+ Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0800 999 5428. You can also visit Women’s Aid. In an emergency, always call 999. Other international helplines can be found via befrienders.org.
*Name has been changed to protect identities.
