Police chief blames late pub hours during World Cup for spike in domestic abuse
Extending pub opening hours during this year’s World Cup has contributed to a significant increase in violence, a leading police chief has warned.
Chief Constable Mark Roberts, who leads the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) for football, said some of the government’s licensing approaches had “exacerbated” the violence witnessed throughout the tournament.
New figures from the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) reveal a total of 2,322 football-related incidents were recorded by forces in England and Wales during the competition.
This marks a significant increase of 78 percent over the 1,302 incidents recorded in Euro 2024. According to Mr Roberts, these figures surpassed all similar tournaments except Euro 2020, which saw 2,345 incidents.
Incidents occurring in licensed premises, including pubs, accounted for 43 per cent of all disturbances recorded during the World Cup.
Former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer allowed pubs to stay open until 5am just 48 hours before England’s match against Mexico on July 6.
The late notification was criticized by Mr Roberts, who said: “Increased working hours have caused more problems.”
“The expansion of licensing laws needs to be done with some thought and a broad-based view needs to be taken of the consequences as well as the benefits of general relaxations in legislation,” he added.
“Once again, late notification did not help with the Mexico game.
“The draw took place on 5 December 2025. The decision to change licensing laws for this extremely predictable fixture was made 48 hours before the match, leaving the powers that be with no time to re-select teams, field people, notify people or take other measures.
“Once again, please consider the rounded point and take into account any threat assessment, impact, negative impact and positive benefits.
“Clearly we need to do better collectively to ensure that policies for the next tournament are set in advance and fully consulted, so we can plan like local authorities.”
UKFPU figures show incidents of domestic abuse reached a record high at this year’s World Cup compared to previous similar tournaments.
During the last competition, 384 cases of football-related domestic violence were reported to police forces.
This figure was a 9 percent increase on the 351 points scored during Euro 2024 and marked a 223 percent increase on the 119 points scored during the 2022 World Cup.
Mr Roberts said the figures showed a “demoralizing picture”.
He said football-related domestic incidents counted as incidents occurring before, during or after World Cup matches and were “clearly” related to the incident.
Mr Roberts added there was a “major concern” about the sudden increase in allegations of rape and incidents of rape on licensed premises reported during the tournament, which the NPCC said it planned to investigate.
Asked what the rise in domestic violence and general incidents could be attributed to, Mr Roberts told the Press Association: “I’m trying to say that it’s not something specific to football, you know, it’s about incidents.
“I would say this is largely due to alcohol consumption and drugs. Football becomes the catalyst for people to over-drink alcohol etc.”
“We see this every week in night economies. The police are very used to dealing with this and alcohol is a major driver of this.”
He added: “I think some of the approach to licensing has made this worse, so I think we need to think about that, assess the situation, rely on the procedures we have to support the hospitality trade, but also get the balance right with public safety.”
Mr Roberts said there had been an increase in both the volume and “severity” of football-related incidents as the England team moved into the knockout stages, with 575 incidents recorded during the Three Lions’ match against Argentina on July 15.
The official said that a man was stabbed after the match against Norway on July 11, and a man was stabbed after leaving a licensed premises after the match against Argentina.
A stepfather and his stepson were also involved in a drowning incident after England played Norway.
He said there was also widespread unrest across London following France’s match against Morocco on July 9.
Mr Roberts said UKFPU figures show 391 arrests were made during this year’s World Cup, again the highest figure recorded when comparing previous similar tournaments and excluding Euro 2020.
However, he noted that the behavior of British fans traveling to the USA and Mexico, where the tournament will be held, was “exemplary”.
Figures show just 22 of England fans who traveled to the two countries during the match were arrested by local police.
While there were none at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and just three at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, it was slightly lower than the 24 in Brazil in 2014.
UKFPU statistics also show that 293 online hate crime incidents were recorded by police forces across England and Wales during this year’s World Cup, with the majority (161) recorded during England’s match against Ghana on 23 June.
The UKFPU’s separate statistics for the 2025/26 football season show 1,644 incidents were reported to police forces during the year; This number reached 1,580, an increase of 4 percent compared to the previous year.
Mr Roberts said there was “real concern” about the increasing participation of younger supporters.
Figures show 516 incidents involving young fans were recorded last year; This is a 120 per cent increase from 235 events in 2024/25.
The national domestic violence helpline offers support to women on 0808 2000 247 or visit: Asylum website. There is a special section men’s advice line on 0808 8010 327. US residents can call the domestic violence hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). You can reach other international helplines at: www.befrienders.org
