By Kriti Chand Rajbar, Trinity College Student
The absorbing showdown that was the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship (better known as Euro 2020) just concluded on Sunday night. For those who don’t know, Euro 2020 was an international men's football championship of Europe. Italy won the final on penalties against England following a 1–1 draw after extra time
Now I don’t know too much about football (and any other sport really), but I do know that people tend to be really passionate about the teams they support, and often take it personally when their teams don’t win. Friends and family gather in restaurants and in their homes to eagerly watch the game. People from all walks of life unite and cheer for their team in hope of victory. What could go wrong?
Unfortunately, a lot. Football, as I mentioned before, has the ability to incite incredible passion in its fans. When your team wins, there is very little that is comparable to the intense elation you feel. Alas, for one team to win another must lose. For every euphoric fan, there’s another who feels nothing but anger and hatred. And all the adrenaline that was created during the game has to come out somewhere.
For a long time, it has been common knowledge that domestic abuse cases increase after a sports match of any kind. Football is England's most popular sport and that England’s national football team is one the most closely followed of all the nation's teams. This reaches fever pitch during international tournaments. For many this is a time of positivity, community, and national pride, but evidence shows during these events domestic abuse incidents usually rise. According to the United Nations, domestic abuse is essentially a pattern of behaviour in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. A study in 2014 by academics at Lancaster University looked at the number of reports of abuse to a police force in the north-west of England during three football World Cups. They found that such reports increased by 26% when the national team won or drew, and by 38% when the team lost (other studies suggest abuse is worse when England wins). Win or lose, unfortunately for victims it is a lose-lose situation.
The link between football and domestic abuse is complex, experts have long pointed to alcohol as an important factor in this relationship. Ahead of the semi-final between England and Denmark on July 7th, the British Beer and Pub Association estimated that 10m pints would be sold on match day. During the game itself, they reckoned around 50,000 drinks would be purchased every minute. Several studies have documented the link between alcohol intoxication and violent behaviour. While alcohol may not be the direct cause of violent behaviour, it can act as an aggravating factor by lowering inhibitions. In fact, LSE British Politics and Policy looked at the time pattern of the England win effect and observed that the increase in the number of alcohol-related cases starts in the three-hour period of the match, peaks in the next three-hour period, and then gradually declines to its original levels in the 24-hour period after the match. This pattern is highly consistent with the effect of prolonged alcohol-fuelled celebrations following an England victory.
As if losing the Euro 2020 final to Italy wasn't bad enough for most English fans, another problem that has been playing out this past week as a result is the racial abuse of three British-African members of England’s national team. Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho, and Marcus Rashford were faced with aggressive racist abuse online after missing penalties in England's final defeat by Italy. The three football players took the last three penalties, two of which were saved by Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, during England's 3–2 loss on penalties on Sunday 11 July 2021 and were all immediately targeted.
Harassment and racist comments began to flood the social media accounts of the three players as soon as the game was over. A mural in the city of Manchester, England, depicting Rashford, celebrating his charitable work, was defaced in a way police have called "racially aggravated." English players have long faced racism, and many have spoken out about the issue in recent years, including Rashford, who this year called the racist abuse he receives from soccer fans "humanity and social media at its worst."
Condemnation was swift and strong across the board, from everyone from Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Prince William expressing support, does it really change anything? In my opinion, racism in sport stems from a larger issue of systemic racism. It should not be treated as an isolated issue, as it is one small part of a wide range of issues faced by people of colour. A study commissioned by the Professional Footballers' Association Charity last year found that 43% of Premier League players have experienced online racist abuse. The FA has launched a myriad of campaigns to combat racism. Much of it, you could argue, has been too little, too late. These campaigns are also ineffective, as proved by the events of this past week.
A game of football should be just that- a game. It should not result in people being unsafe in their homes or become an event for racists to abuse people. This rise in domestic abuse cases has been documented for a long time, and the racial abuse, while shocking, is also not new. While this article was mainly focused on England, the correlation between sport games and violence is present everywhere in the world. How do we ensure that a game remains a game and does not escalate to this?
Good question! I want to know too.