Academics have revealed an increase in recorded domestic violence in Scotland on the day that football matches are played.
The new paper, published by the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR), highlighted a correlation between certain football matches and increased reports of domestic abuse.
However, the report also warned that there were “limitations” to these studies and that more work was needed.
It has previously been reported that incidents of domestic violence increased when Old Firm matches took place.
St Andrews University researchers claimed their work showed a ‘statistically significant’ increase in domestic incidents following all 21 Old Firm matches between 2008 and 2011.
They found a rise in cases of physical, sexual and emotional abuse in the 24-hour period after kick-off.
The Scottish Government commissioned experts at Glasgow University and Glasgow Caledonian University to examine previous studies into the relationship between matches and higher levels of abuse cases.
One of the authors of the new report, Dr Oona Brooks of Glasgow University, said: “Domestic abuse is a pattern of controlling behaviour rather than a discreet incident; linking its occurrence to a particular football match or sporting event may simply reinforce the idea that it is an infrequent act, triggered only at these times.
“Further research on these issues would benefit from locating domestic abuse within an ongoing pattern of abusive behaviour.”
Reports of domestic abuse can rise between 13% and 138.8% on the day of an Old Firm clash, the study said, with the increase dependent on factors such as what day of the week the match is played on and its outcome.
It said: “Findings may be impacted upon by the times of day measured and whether matches took place at weekends where both alcohol consumption and reports of domestic abuse made to the police are known to increase substantially.”
It went on to state that “despite the limitations” of earlier studies, “they do demonstrate a relationship between the days of certain football matches (particularly Old Firm fixtures), and the number of recorded domestic abuse incidents”.
“There is a relative lack of research in the Scottish and wider UK context that addresses the relationship between domestic abuse and football,” the report said.
The academics suggested: “Qualitative research should be undertaken to gain insights into the experiences of victims/survivors, perpetrators and practitioners working in the field of domestic abuse.
“Such research would make a valuable contribution to understanding the nature of the link between domestic abuse and football.”