While the England men’s national football team came away with a third place finish from the FIFA World Cup 2026, domestic abuse during in the UK unfortunately saw a record high.
There were 384 domestic abuse incidents reported to the UK Football Policing Unit, higher than each of the past two World Cups and European Championships. Domestic abuse made up 17 per cent of the incidents reported to the UKFPU in the duration of the quadrennial showpiece.
Ninety-three per cent of reported incidents were linked to days when England was playing, with the figures observing a big spike during the business end of the tournament, during the quarterfinal against Norway and the semifinal against Argentina.
Chief Constable Mark Roberts, the Football Policing National Lead in charge of policing football in the UK, said the World Cup and associated alcohol consumption had led to an overall increase in reported incidents.
“Football matches do not cause domestic abuse, but factors associated with big matches, such as increased alcohol consumption and emotions running high, can make existing domestic abuse increase in frequency and severity,” Veronica Oakeshott, head of external affairs at anti-domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid, said in a statement, reported by Sky Sports.
Second-highest levels of online hate incidents recorded
Online hate crime, meanwhile, saw 293 incidents reported, which is is the second-highest recorded after Euro 2020 which saw 393 cases. Police saw 750 referrals relating to England matches in all, of which 293 were classified under the online hate crime category.
These are still being reviewed, but police expect that a large proportion of this abuse came from outside the United Kingdom.
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Published on Jul 24, 2026