Exploring the association between old firm soccer derbies and incidents of community and domestic violence in glasgow, Scotland

Background/purpose Violence is a significant public health problem in Glasgow, Scotland's largest city. There has been increased concern regarding the violence surrounding soccer derbies between Glasgow's two largest teams, Rangers and Celtic (the “Old Firm”). While media reports and police statements often make a causal link between incidents of community and domestic violence and Old Firm derbies, these have been based on limited comparisons lacking statistical analysis. This paper describes the initial findings of an on-going study exploring the association between Old Firm derbies and incidents of police-recorded community and domestic violence within Glasgow. Methods Data comprised the number of reports of community violence (assault, serious violence, etc.) and domestic incidents (covering physical, sexual, mental, and emotional abuse) for 2008-2011. Comparisons were made for the 24-hours following kick-off for every Old Firm derby (n=21) and Scotland International (n=13) and two controls (Old Firm-control and Scotland-control). Data for each control was taken for the same 24-hour period 7-days following the corresponding Old Firm derby or Scotland International. Results/outcomes There were significantly higher numbers of incidents of community violence and domestic incidents for Old Firm derbies relative to Scotland International's, Scotland-control's and Old Firm-control's; however, there were no significant differences in the number of reports for the three comparators. Conclusions Initial findings suggest that Old Firm games are associated with increased levels of community and domestic violence relative to appropriate comparators. Further quantitative and qualitative research will explore this association to inform violence prevention interventions for Old Firm derbies.