Football (soccer) and domestic abuse are presented as intrinsically linked within society [1]. Major broadcasters consistently document the arrests surrounding football violence, sectarianism and anti-social behavior that follows key football matches. Within Scotland, this violence appears to be amplified by the history of the two main rival teams in Glasgow, and this is further associated with sectarianism, which is often associated to Protestant and Roman Catholic divisions within Christianity and the bigotry that manifests itself through abusive actions and words [2]. The traditional religious rivalry between the historically Catholic Celtic Football Club and the historically Protestant. The Rangers Football Club is so deeply rooted that in Glasgow, many people’s identities are abridged to a solitary imperative; something that the person’s surname or the school that they attended disclose, or the football club that they support.  Research demonstrates that there is a significant correlation concerning football and violence [3] regardless of whether this is broad-spectrum [4] or domestic abuse [5]; nevertheless, the reasons for the rise in violent behaviour are not evident.

The impact that football has on the family has been well documented and is a commonly recognised justification is that violence is an expressive behaviour that the male employs [6] in order to dominantly control their partner and children [7], and that it arises when an argument is exaggerated to the point where it becomes out of control [8,9].

The total number of domestic abuses related recorded incidents that occurred in Scotland in 2009-10 was 51,926 [10], the largest rise in statistics to that day. Of these, 25,112 reported incidents took place within the Strathclyde area [10] where Celtic and Rangers are located. Furthermore, 21,660 of the recorded statistics accounted for countrywide incidents and 12,658 were reported to the Procurator Fiscal for the Strathclyde region [10]. Throughout the Strathclyde region, 230 arrests were carried out for violence, anti-social behaviour and disorder incidents and 70 cases of domestic abuse following the 3-0 win of Celtic over Rangers in April 2012, representing a 75% increase on the previous Monday’s figure of 40. Later that year when Rangers won over Celtic 4-2 at home, Strathclyde Police reported 142 cases of domestic abuse in stark contrast to the 67 reported incidents on any given weekend that the Old Firm does not meet [11]. Domestic abuse cases have increased year on year, however, since 2011-12 the levels of domestic abuse cases recorded by Police Scotland have remained comparatively consistent with 58,000-60,000 incidents annually [12]. It is imperative that we better understand the rationales, motivations and experiences of those engaging in this behavior to best allow the development of interventions and risk management planning. 

Considering the issue beyond partner-abuse, family violence is an insidious and costly problem, yet there is no consensus on how to construe the phenomenon of violence by one member of a family against another. Several analysts presuppose that violence has an influential role in intra-family incentives [13]. The current research therefore aimed to investigate these more nuanced aspects, to gain a more thorough understanding of the lived experience of football fans with a focus on experiences of key football matches. 

Whilst controlling for the location of the match and the time of kick off, weather as a factor, the pre-game point spread, and the size of the home fan base, [13] concluded that upset losses by the home team led to an 8% increase in police reported incidents of at-home male-on-female domestic abuse (with no equivalent effect on female-on-male abuse. Unswervingly, with the behavioral prediction that losses are of greater significance than wins, upset successes by the home team have (at most) a small diminishing effect on family conflict. In addition, it was apparent that unpredicted losses in substantially salient or frustrating games have a 50% to 100% significant impact on rates of family conflict [13]. 

In an attempt to address the issue of sectarianism that Scotland faces, Deuchar & Holligan (2008) focused on the sectarian-related incidents of violent behavior that sixteen-year-old youths had observed.  Football-related sectarianism was seen to be linked to pressure from within the family; the preservations of ‘traditions’ that are so inextricably bound up with the Old Firm and a tendency towards male tribalism and machismo. Their research also emphasized that young people in Scotland were in receipt of insufficient levels of anti-sectarian education [14].  Deuchar & Holligan’s (2008) findings further indicate that young people had been predisposed by older family members (usually their brothers or fathers) to support a particular football team, wear particular football colours and to sing football songs that are associated with their team as a method of promoting a heterosexual male identity. The participants, however, demonstrated no interest in religion, but appeared to be knowledgeable of matters surrounding religious division, which typically evolves from football-correlated discussions with family and friends [14]. 

Combative sports such as football have, therefore, materialised as a ground for males to identify and express a form of masculinity established fundamentally on physicality and ascendency over one’s opponent and to further this sense of masculinity through the various social experiences of simply being a dedicated fan of a team [15]. Given their culture and social connotation and physical contact, collision sports provide an insight of how gender, power and privilege are so profoundly entwined, thus contributing to the reproduction and preservation of masculine hegemony or hypermasculinity [16]. Many scholars, however, are reluctant to accept that violence percolates from the controlled environment of sports, disputing that football disseminates a “rape culture” by replicating misogyny [17,18].

Qualitative and quantitative research has, however, associated abuse against women by their male partner to occasions of drinking [19], and experimental research proposes that alcohol plays a fundamental causal role in violent behaviour [20]. Of major concern is the fact that perpetrators may engage in more severe violence if they or the victims of their aggression have been drinking alcohol [21].  Findings from research in the United States indicate that violence by a man toward a female partner is of greater severity and injury is more likely to occur when the man has been drinking [22]. A UK study (Shepherd, Irish, Scully, & Leslie, 1988) demonstrated that if the victim has consumed alcohol, then injury is more likely to occur. The relationship between alcohol and aggression may also be manipulated by cultural factors.  Individuals may consume alcohol before becoming violent because they believe that drinking alcohol excuses their violent behavior [24]. In addition, the association between violence and consumption of alcohol and partner violence may be of particular importance in countries where extreme episodic drinking is the normative drinking pattern such, as in Scotland, and where there are robust relationships between alcohol consumption and becoming violent when drinking [25,26]. 

Given that statistics indicate an association between key football events and domestic abuse, and between alcohol consumption and domestic abuse, and given that episodic excessive drinking culture is the norm in Scotland at key Old Firm matches, the association between football and domestic abuse appears to be apparent, but is more complex than mere causal association. The current study, therefore, investigates the lived experiences of football fans in relation to domestic violence, exploring not only the association, but the participants rationales, motivations, and understandings.

Design

The current research utilized Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore the accounts of peoples’ lived experiences of football support and domestic abuse perpetration. In-depth one-to-one interviews were carried out, led by the interviewee. Participants were able to speak freely about their individual experiences and what they themselves considered to be of importance to them, permitting their own thoughts, feelings, attitudes and states of mind to be captured within the interview (the lead author). The interviewer reflected upon the words spoken by the interviewee whilst exploring the underlying connotations of the context that the interviewee inferred and this, in turn, permitted the interviewee the opportunity to discuss subject matters that may not have been considered prior to the interview. In the event that the interviewee greatly deviated from the subject matter, an interview topic guide containing questions that were applicable to the subject of ‘how football affects you’ was referred to. This exploratory methodology captured the fundamental nature of the football fans’ experiences and how football has affected them; in doing so, it provided a greater appreciation of their thoughts and feelings about their experiences of domestic abuse.

Participants

Participants (N = 5) were Scottish football fans from the East and West Coasts of Scotland. Participants were white males, aged between 25-63 years, and had been football fans since childhood. Participants were recruited with support from the Scottish football clubs contacted for this research project via recruitment posters. Participant names are replaced with pseudonyms. This research obtained ethical approval from the Psychology Departmental Ethics Committee at Glasgow Caledonian University.

Materials

The researcher conducted the interviews in an interview room within the host university. Information sheets and consent forms were provided to the participant on entry into the interview room and once consent had been obtained the interviews were recorded using digital recording equipment. An interview topic guide was referred to in case the interviewee digressed. A de-brief sheet was given to participants with contact details of services to seek help should they become distressed once the interviews had concluded. 

Procedure

On arrival, participants were met by the researcher and taken to the interviewing room. The interview procedure was discussed and agreed. All interviews were subsequently conducted after formal written consent had been obtained and were audio-recorded. Continuous consent was obtained periodically throughout the interview process. All interviews commenced with the first question “Can you tell me what being a football fan means to you?” Interviews were participant led, introducing the topic guide only if the discussion strayed from the overarching focus of the interviews.  To conclude each interview, participants were thanked for their time and taking part in the research project. Participants were reminded that they were free to withdraw from the study and asked them if they desired a copy of the findings. Contact details listed on the information sheet of organisations that would be available should they become distressed after leaving the university were highlighted. Participants were interviewed between one and two hours, before the interview was brought to a close.

After all of the interviews had been transcribed, they were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). IPA is a recognised approach which provides a stance and protocol for the analysis of qualitative data [27]. IPA is participant-led; the focus on participants facilitates the emergence of novel and useful insights. IPA necessitates a detailed, rigorous and systematic engagement with each participant’s interview transcript, utilizing inductive and iterative process of reading, exploring, coding, reflecting, interrogating, integrating and ultimately, thematising. The researcher aims to identify patterns of meanings (themes) in the participants’ experiential claims and concerns, and to situate these in the context of wider structures, narratives or life stories [28]. In IPA, the final analytic account endeavours to consider the shared understandings of the experience in question, whilst also providing some sense of individual difference in terms of particular participant’s experiences within the dataset (Flowers, Davis, Larkin, Church, & Marriot, 2010). 

To appreciate the accounts of family conflict, it is essential to situate them in the context of the participants’ lives. The ‘football’ trajectory ran across all interviews. This traces the history of participants’ football related experiences through their identities, the social aspect of being football fans, the emotions experienced and any conflict that they encountered as a result of being fans. Therefore, an overarching football narrative forms the background to this analysis. The analysis illustrates through the use of recurrent themes: football identity, personal identity and the self as performing; social aspect, family connection and alcohol; intense emotions, loss and impact of football on emotions; football conflict, religion/ideology and media. The superordinate themes that derived from this research are: identity, social aspect, emotions and football conflict.

The current research has unearthed the abuse that fans encounter as a result of following a particular football team. These participants are subjected to family conflict at varying degrees for supporting different football teams, yet there are similarities in the violence that they face.  While violence and domestic abuse were a key focus in the outset of the study, these did not feature greatly within the participants accounts. The super-ordinate themes will be discussed in this section, also exploring and presenting each participant’s own experiences.

Football Identity

Throughout the narrative of all participants, the fundamental recurrent theme that was of significant importance to them was their identity with football. Using Social Identity Theory [29], it can be proposed that football fans separate groups and teams into social categories in which fans identify with a group/team to which they themselves belong. Geographical boundaries or family traditions typically indicate which team someone supports. Supporting a particular football club often facilitates a sense of belonging, identification and inclusion within a larger group; essentially, creating a tangible social identity: “So I’m a Saint Mirren fan, my two sons are Saint Mirren fans and I daresay I brought them up the way my dad brought me up- support your local team.” (Graeme).

Graeme highlights the importance of his dad being a Saint Mirren fan, he himself being raised as a fan and the significance that this is had on how he has raised his two children, who are also Saint Mirren fans. In his extract Martin ‘s strong sense of identity is apparent from the onset: “Eh, I’m a Celtic fan...I, I, I love my football team...” (Martin, 25-year-old, Celtic supporter).

Martin’s powerful yet concise language sets the tone for his narrative. Throughout the interview Martin expressed his emotions on the impact that football has on his life, whether he was playing football or was a spectator of football.  Football plays a pivotal role: “Dunno, I suppose Celtic’s bit of a family, think.” Martin’s profound awareness of Celtic resembling a family is found throughout his narrative, frequently reflecting on the satisfaction that he would feel should he be recognized as being a Celtic supporter outside of Scotland: “And then if somebody does that’s where the satisfaction comes from. ‘Oh, yeah, there’s somebody else from the Celtic family’.”

Being able to associate themselves to a particular group, both participants demonstrate how significant is the role of football identity when identifying yourself. Graeme and Martin in their narratives, despite supporting different football teams and a stark contrast in their age, are both inextricably bound by their strong football identities.

Personal Identity 

Having a strong sense of personal identity facilitates how participants distinguish themselves, what matters to them, and how they define themselves within society. It stands them alone from the world.  The magnitude of imprinting their individual identities within their respective narratives was expressed by all participants. Separating themselves from the crowd, they articulated what identity meant to them: “I’m not a sheep.” (Donald, age unkonow, Saint Mirren supporter)

The significance of the rationale behind Donald’s extract granted him the opportunity to convey what sets him apart from the mass followers of the Old Firm: “I don’t follow things just for following...” His apparent yearning to express who he is “...I am peculiar...”, where he is from “...I was Falkirk born and bred.” and why he supports the team he does “...I don’t follow things just for following them’s sake, so Rangers and Celtic were out of the question” was a constant throughout his interview. From his narrative it was apparent that Donald was able to express his identity and his determination not to follow the pack mentality and become a supporter of Rangers or Celtic.

In his extract, Graeme also articulated distinct affiliations of his identity, emphasising that he is not from Glasgow: “Nan, nah, nah, no I’m not- I’m from Paisley.” (Graeme, 65-year-old Saint Mirren supporter). The significance of not being from Glasgow but from Paisley proves vital to defining who he is and the relationships that can be formed by expressing that “Naw, Naw, I’m a Saint Mirren fan!” captivated the passion that he has not only for this affiliation to Saint Mirren but as an individual who has a strong national identity and the significance that this has on not supporting Celtic or Rangers, but in particular Rangers:  “...I’m a Scotsman...your Scottish...I don’t like the Union Flag... ...fly a Scottish flag...” (Graeme, 63 year-old Saint Mirren supporter)

The Self as Performing

The significance of the self-performing at a high level was felt by four participants, encompassing a difference in age groups, placing emphasis on the extent to which this is of fundamental importance to them despite the stark contrast in the time period in which they were raised: “I would hate to do anything to the detriment of the club...” (Martin, 25 year-old Celtic supporter)In his narrative, Martin discussed the importance of being an “...ambassador for the club...” highlighting the quintessential components for being “...the best supporter you can be...”. From his extract it was apparent that Martin was endeavoring to be an ambassador for the club and to “...show the club in a good light...”  Martin was able to articulate his feelings and the intensity that he felt about his performance was apparent throughout his interview. 

Alcohol

Whilst alcohol played a role in the majority of participants’ experiences of being a football fan, it was deemed to be a social event that they enjoyed as part of being a fan and either going to or from a game: “Quite often go to the games and know how go out for a beer after the game.”  (Martin, 25-year-old Celtic supporter). Martin’s experiences of being able to go to the pub and enjoy the company of his friends was apparent in his interview but it was also distinguishable that alcohol did not appear to be heavily involved. It seemed more passive but pertinent to his routine in watching the football. 

Donald’s relationship with alcohol appears to echo that of Martin’s: “...went to the pub before a game.”  (Donald, Saint Mirren supporter). Donald felt that alcohol and football are associated: “Well there was always connected like, you know...”  For him and his experiences alcohol featured “...once I became drinking age...” Donald’s connection to alcohol is recognized by him: “...so, alcohol does play a big part.” The emphasis placed on “...does...” weighs heavily on Donald: “I probably drink far too much for my own good.  I’ve had a couple of beers today.” This disclosure emphasised the significant impact that alcohol has on Donald’s life: “...so, alcohol’s ingrained in my culture...” Despite Donald believing that alcohol is featured in his routine “...alcohol is involved in match days but lesser so...” As Donald tails off for on reflection, it seemed as if he was saddened that alcohol did not feature as much as he would like.

Family Connections

The role of family connections appeared in the majority of participants, but was more prominent in the younger football fans. Their rationale for becoming a supporter, the history of their family and the significance of being raised as a fan of the team their father and their father before them have supported is a fundamental facet of their football fan experience. Martin and Rudolph shared their experiences of their respective family connections: “I think most games on a Saturday with my dad and my grandpa...” (Martin, 25-year-old Celtic supporter). Martin’s narrative also expressed the significance of match days: “So it was kind a like, it was a good day to see my grandpa...” The death of his grandfather has not impacted upon the family connection as whilst: “...the three of us had a season ticket together...” Martin and his dad continue their family connection “...I’m going to see the game tonight with my dad...” The profound family connection that this family shared spans at least three generations and despite the loss of Martin’s grandfather, it was apparent that he and his dad “...share that interest...” (Martin, 25-year-old Celtic supporter)

Family connections are also discussed by Rudolph “...like my, like his dad was a Hearts supporter and his dad before him was a Hearts supporter...” The longstanding history of Hearts of Midlothian supporters is expressed by Rudolph: “...but that’s like, you’re going back to the end of ... 18th...of the 19th century...” His inability to articulate the exact century demonstrates the length of time his family have supported the one team. Rudolph’s passion for his team and the connection that he now has with his dad through the love of football was fundamental in the development of their relationship. (Rudolph, 27-year-old Hearts of Midlothian supporter)

Social Aspects

The social aspect to being a football fan was evident across the younger of the participants interviewed. A feature of being a football fan is the enjoyment that the social aspect has on their experiences irrespective of which football team they support. In his extract Rudolph highlights the role which football plays in his social life: “Most, pretty much all my social, well not all of them but it’s what I talk to my friends about, like a lot of my friends support football, so we talk about that all the time. If I’m at a party, I end up talking about football.”  (Rudolph, 27-year-old Hearts of Midlothian supporter)

Talking about football at parties facilitates conversations with anyone whether it be “...professors...” or “...whoever....” His awareness that he can communicate with anyone at any language through the love of football is pivotal in his identity of being a football fan. Having the ability to engage in a conversation with complete strangers “...it’s my kind a thing...” further emphasising the influence that football has on him.  Martin’s narrative of the social aspect to being a football fan depicts the advantages: “But it’s always a good excuse to get a couple of days away and have some fun and have a few beers and get to see your team somewhere you’ve never been before as well.” (Martin, 25-year-old Celtic supporter)

Part of the excitement of being a football fan for Martin is getting “...to see your team somewhere you’ve never been before.” In his extract it was apparent the enthusiasm that away games bring to your social life: “... get a couple of days away and have some fun and have a few beers.” Despite consciously not attending all away games, the games that he does attend you “...there’s a really good atmosphere...”and “...it’s really good”.  Martin’s extract further adds to the exhilaration of being a football fan.

One recurring theme of the narratives was that emotion played a pivotal role and had led to welcome and unwelcome positive and negative emotions to be explored and experienced.

Loss

The impact that football had on relationships was often discussed by the participants. Their love and passion for football was not often reciprocated by their family, consequently resulting in the breakdown of their respective relationships, demonstrating the powerful attraction of football and the intensity of emotion that it generates. “My first wife didn’t really understand.  Probably why we’re on wife number two but eom, just everything.”  (Donald, Saint Mirren supporter). Donald captures many aspects of the impact that football has had on his marital relationships. The reader will detect the breakdown of his marriage to his first wife. Donald is relating to the impact that football has had on his marriage. There is a palpable sense of the struggle to articulate the impact that football has had.

The deep seeded source of Rudolph’s loss has risen from the impending divorce of his parents. Their relationship breakdown has led to confusion: “I think, my mum and dad are now getting divorced over the last, that’s sort of this year kind of thing, so that’s kind of new but I think that was like, when was that?” (Rudolph, 27-year-old Hearts of Midlothian supporter). Rudolph’s grief and loss are directed toward the breakdown of his parent’s relationship. Whilst football conflict had dominated his parent’s relationship and the revelation of their divorce came as no surprise, Rudolph was still impacted upon greatly to the point where despite stipulating that the divorce is currently underway, he questions when their divorce occurred, “when was that?”  Rudolph’s experience of loss almost constitutes passiveness “that’s sort of this year kind of thing”. Rudolph is not only experiencing grief at the divorce of his parents but the underlying rationale for breakdown of that relationship.

Impact on Emotions

For the majority of the participants, the impact on emotions encompassed positive and negative feelings; the highs and lows, and the anger of particular songs being sung. Their football team is impacting upon their emotions. Rudolph expresses the emotions that he encounters when his football team has lost: “And the second thing is I think it’s and I do get in a bit of a bad mood if we lose out or a bad defeat, you know a bad mood, so I think it’s a mixture of those.” (Rudolph, 27- year-old Hearts of Midlothian supporter). For Rudolph, the loss of a game leads to him encountering negative emotions in the form of bad moods, “I do get in a bit of a bad mood if we lose”. His bad moods have not only been felt by him, but by his spouse leading to conflict. 

With every loss comes a win. Charles discussed positive emotions, in the form of a win over one part of the Old Firm, which for Charles: “...it was the best Christmas present I had” (Charles, 50- year-old Saint Mirren supporter). The sheer elation and physiological changes that Charles experienced are apparent by his recollection that “...your endorphins are going”.  This win not only witnessed Charles encountering physiological changes, but it led him to believe that it was the best Christmas present he had received.  Whilst recognising that “we didn’t even score a goal against Celtic” Charles is almost overcome by shock and surprise, what is deemed as a big win equates to a feeling that one can only compare to the joy that Christmas brings. 

Intense Emotions

What was pertinent throughout the narratives was how intensely the participants had become overwhelmed by their negative emotion. In each of the cases where intense emotion occurred, anger was pertinent. The significance of particular songs being sung has caused Graeme a considerable amount of anger: “Honestly, when I hear, if I’m at either Ibrox or Parkhead and I hear those songs, my instant reaction is anger.”  (Graeme, 63-year-old Saint Mirren supporter). There is unreservedly a clear indication of the impact that those songs that are sung have on Graeme’s emotions “my instant reaction is anger.” In this way Graeme is explaining the magnitude of his feelings toward the songs.  Whilst his initial response is anger, upon reflection “I know, I am mentally questioning...why are these people doing that?” His inability to justify the requirement for these songs answered his own question, further demonstrating the impact that these particular songs have on his emotions. Alongside the anger encountered by Graeme, Martin’s own experiences of anger were also felt: “...I actually felt quite angry! That I wasn’t able to walk down the street and my cousin wasn’t able to walk down the street...” The depth of the conflict encountered by Martin as a result of being a Celtic fan and wearing his football top outside of the stadium had a profound impact upon his emotions.  Confused by the actions of another fan, Martin recognised that it was “...strange” and that the football fan had a “Different mindset, I think to what I’ve got.” Martin’s narrative depicts the importance of the ideologies and values in which he was raised and that they vary markedly to that of others, further emphasising that Martin’s religious background and a secure family network have set the tone for what he deems as acceptable and unacceptable behavior. 

Football Conflict

Here, football conflict is understood to be any conflict that the participants encountered, domestically or from other fans.  Charles, Graeme, Martin and Rudolph all encountered conflict. Charles experienced physical conflict: “When I got hit in the eye, that was at a home game and ironically enough it was against Hibs.” (Charles, 50-year-old Saint Mirren supporter). When Charles was hit, he was attending a home game and was, therefore, in a familiar setting.  In recalling this conflict Charles satirically implied that he was surprised that it was at a Hibernian (Hibs) game, “...ironically enough it was against Hibs”. From his narrative, it is evident that he did not expect conflict from the Hibernian fans. 

The gravity of the conflict endured by Martin can be felt from his words: “...some guy just started shouting ‘scum’ at us because we were wearing Celtic tops...” (Martin, 25-year-old Celtic supporter). The conflict that surrounds wearing football colours is so profound that wearing a football top, appears to lead to the historical biases that surround supporting a rival club. Martin’s emphasis on the use of ‘scum’ portrays the extent to which the deep-rooted shock, confusion, and sense that he was to blame for the verbal abuse that he was subjected to “...I had my top on, which wasn’t my cleverest idea I’ve had...” The need to justify his actions as a means of excusing the actions of the person who was aggressive toward him demonstrates traits that are classically synonymous with the victims of abuse.

Ideologies

Christianity is synonymous with the west coast of Scotland: Protestant or Catholic. The underlying prejudice that is felt toward the ideologies that surround both Celtic and Rangers has played a pivotal role in the narratives of Donald and Graeme: “No, no, nine out of ten games have no problem, em, Rangers and Celtic, I’m heavily biased towards them, as you’ll find out but you can sense the atmosphere, when you go to their ground, it’s, it’s a bad taste.”  (Donald, Saint Mirren supporter). Donald’s extract depicts the animosity and hatred that he has encountered as a result of being a football fan. As a non-supporter of Celtic or Rangers, Graeme tries to comprehend the ideologies surround these two Old Firm teams. Struggling to grasp the logic behind fans not being allowed entry with a bottle of water: “You can’t bring in a bottle of water but these people can drum?  Drumsticks and Trumpets?  It’s   mad.”;” Celtic still play Irish songs... and I don’t understand it- the Dambuster music.  Flutes, what are flutes synonymous with in Scotland?”; “So if I look at it as a non-supporter who doesn’t care about either Celtic or Rangers, I’m thinking all of those things are synonymous with religion.” (Graeme, 63-year-old Saint Mirren Supporter).

Graeme’s confusion about why it is acceptable for clubs to openly allow the entry of drums, drumsticks and trumpets, but not the entry of a bottle of water has unearthed the differences in ideologies that they have encountered across the Old Firm and non-Old Firm teams, thus Graeme feels that what he has experienced is synonymous with religion: “... But the supporters of, let’s call it the ‘small clubs’... We just don’t get that stuff.” (Graeme, 63-year-old St Mirren supporter). As a non-Old Firm supporter an outsider of Celtic and Rangers might not be able to understand what is synonymous to their club or their religion and ideologies.

Media

The media in Scotland is predominantly focused on the dominant football clubs in Glasgow, i.e., Rangers and Celtic. The demand for reporting so widely on these clubs has had an impact on the majority of the participants. The negative feelings toward Scottish media and its role in the dominance of the Old Firm football clubs can be felt in the extract by Charles, Donald and Graeme, all of whom are supporters of what’s deemed to be a ‘smaller club’ as perceived by the media: “If you have an Old Firm game you’ve got thirteen, fourteen pages from three days before ‘till three days after it, about Rangers and Celtic.” (Charles, 50-year-old Saint Mirren supporter)

“Yeah, oh the media, the media in Scotland’s got a lot to answer for.”  (Donald, Saint Mirren supporter)

“And even if say Saint Mirren played on the Saturday and it just so happens that Rangers and Celtic are playing on the Sunday, you could go in easily twelve, fourteen pages before you could find any mention of any other team other than Celtic or Rangers.”  (Graeme, 63-year-old Saint Mirren supporter)

Amid the supporters of what are perceived to be one of the ‘larger clubs’ within the SPL, Martin and Rudolph did not encounter such biases in their experiences of being a football fan. In their extracts, both Charles and Graeme encounter negativity toward the way in which the Scottish media, in particular, but the media as a whole, report football. In their narratives, both discuss the extent to which the media dictates the dominance felt by Rangers and Celtic. The lack of coverage of other teams within Scotland in the same manner not only angered the participants but they believe the media is to blame for the hype that surrounds the Old Firm. In his narrative, Donald is no longer able to listen to the radio as he believes that they: “...just pander the majority...” (Donald, Saint Mirren supporter)

The findings of this research are unambiguous. The core theme in the participant’s experiences of being a football fan of a particular team was not centered on or linked to domestic abuse.  Despite past research discussing football fandom as a potential causative factor in domestic abuse perpetration, it was instead people’s sense of self and meaning making, rather, that were discussed, with identity, emotions and conflict being associated factors that contributed to, and indeed were, of significant importance to how participants’ lived experiences of football affecting their lives and their sense of being. Discussions around family conflict were present, however, along with indications of intimate partner relationship breakdown, suggesting that football, for some people, does act as a point of family conflict and may be prioritised over fulfilling the needs of a partner.

The literature presupposes that the alcohol, [3] religious and historical ideology, sectarianism and the hypermasculinity that surrounds sports are indicative of the spike in the rise in domestic abuse figures surrounding the aftermath of Old Firm football matches [30]. No rigorous statistical data, however, exists to affirm the assumptions proposed [3], and, until the current study, to the authors’ best knowledge, no explorations of football fans experiences had been analysed in order to capture their lived accounts of the impact that football has on their family life. 

National identities are understood past and present [31]. As a means of securing, one’s identity within a group, Tajfel (1992) postulated that the progression of internal and external attribution must occur. Within Scotland, Boyle and Haynes (1996) hypothesized that football is a legitimate, justifiable articulation of Scottish national identity, both international and domestic; crucial in exhibiting Scottish character and heritage.  Similarly, Bradley (1994) examined the characteristics of identity in Scotland that are otherwise indistinguishable. He reports that these identities that are felt have their origins in the Irish immigration into Scotland and Scotland/Britain’s’ historically controversial relationship with Ireland. Fundamentally, their identity defines them, shaping how they view themselves and how the world perceives them. The football and personal identities that were formed by these participants not only described their immense sense of belonging but their sense of pride, commitment and dedication to their team. The current findings also demonstrate that identities have been formed based on the historical roots of the teams that their parents and grandparents have supported, and that strong personal identities have been formed in order not to belong to or have membership of particular groups, such as the Old Firm which is distinct to Scotland. The quintessential argument of the social identity theory tradition is the psychological shift from a personal to a social level of classification [32]. The consequence is that group behavior is correlated with depersonalisation.  Notwithstanding, participants in this analysis still portrayed a strong sense of personal identity. 

For most fans, football is part of their lives; for some however, it can become the main focus.  In the face of defeat these people experience intense emotions as their identity is so deep-rooted within football and its fandom.  Studies have found that fans of the losing team can become anxious, irritable, and experience sleeping difficulties and headaches [33,34,35]. Participants in this research discussed the experience of a variety of emotions dependent on win/loss and on their emotions and others antagonising them in relation to football. 

Whilst in this study not all of the participants’ emotions surround a win or a loss, typically masculine centred accounts given by participants were presented. In essence, a sense of masculinity is impacted depending upon the result of the participants’ team’s win/loss. The gravity in which their emotions are affected in relation to violence, and in particular family conflict, weighs heavily on if they have won or lost against their rival team. This is particularly prominent in terms of the ‘Old Firm’ in Glasgow. The rise in ‘typically masculine’ identities and actions that football fans experience may trigger positive and negative emotions, demonstrated through the violence and disorder witnessed when the Old Firm meet. While domestic violence was not discussed, incidences of violence, victimisation and conflict were raised by most participants. Future research could explore the meaning of masculinities within football identities using a researcher-led interview to target the lived experience of violence perpetration and victimisation to build upon these findings from the current research and allow greater insight into whether the family conflict identified in the current research may actually be more prevalent and volatile than indicated in this small sample, participant-led study.   

When discussing social aspects to being a football fan, the current research found that this encompassed both attending matches at home either in the stadium or in the pub and travelling abroad with family, friends and supporters of their team. Football strengthened the bonds that existed between members of the participants’ families, but most notably between fathers and their sons. It generates ‘quality time’ [36]. The role of the family weighed heavily on the participants’ encounters, in so far that all of them had a clear association with football and their family, despite any differences in the football team that their family members supported. In terms of social experiences and family connections, this study placed great emphasis on the importance of the two.

The reverberation of religion in the behaviours of football supporters are easily monitored and it is not complex to illustrate the parallels that occur between the outward presentation of religion and football in Scotland; nevertheless, the parallels can be challenging. The experience of being in a crowd and watching football may in some ways (physiologically and narratively) parallel behaviours seen during participation in some religious rituals should not cloud the fact that one is evidently recognised as religious by the participant while the other is not. Religion offers a moral code that should be the driving force for behaviors, morals and beliefs in everyday life. Supporting football has behaviors, morals and beliefs that for the majority are significant to the activity of supporting. Within Glasgow, religion weighs heavily in the football team that you follow.  In this study’s stigma surrounding both Protestant and Roman Catholic, Rangers and Celtic ideologies were brought into question. The religious ideologies that surround Rangers and Celtic were rationales proposed by the participants for not supporting either team. The participants of this study placed emphasis on the importance of not supporting either side of the Old Firm due to a sense of underlying abhorrence that surrounded them. It is assumed that for many football fans, following the team that best fits their religious beliefs has been generational, from father to son; the participants in this study, however, did not demonstrate this behaviour. It is therefore presupposed that the participants of this study actively chose to follow a team for reasons that they are passionate about, and they did not want to be associated with the violence that surrounds these clubs’ fans. Despite this, they are victims of violence due to their support for their respective teams.   

In this study, the conflict encountered by the participants, was on the whole encountered by rival fans, either outside or inside the stadia. Nonetheless, family conflict did occur, but as a result of their families not being supporters of football in general and not due to any underlying football rivalry.  The emotions that surrounded these participants as a result of their love for the game of football is all encompassing. For this particular cohort of participants, if they were not fans of the Old Firm, then the religious affiliation was a rationale that was proposed. The violence that surrounds the history of these two clubs and the religious associations stem hundreds of years; with usually three generations supporting the same team at the same time. Similarly, the one Celtic supporter of this study emphasised that his family connections were his rationale for supporting Celtic. In the West and East of Scotland there is a sheer sense of loyalty to the cause of supporting teams that are affiliated with your religious beliefs, which habitually stems from the team that your forefathers support. Therefore, not supporting a team that your grandfather, father or brother supports does lead to family conflict. The violence that these participants endured as a result of supporting or not supporting a particular team was evident throughout their lived experiences.   

The immense sense of pride at being a football fan of their respective clubs was evident in all of the participants’ narratives. Their love and passion for football coupled with their individual identities are what makes them distinguishable from each other. Nonetheless, their ideologies are comparable despite differing religious affiliations, age differences and the team which they support. The participants demonstrated that whilst they support different football clubs, the conflict that they encountered as a result of being a football fan is too inextricable to conceive.  The media’s contribution to the manner in which they report Scottish football plays heavily in the “anger” and “annoyance” expressed by the participants that do not support either side of the Old Firm. Additionally, the narratives of the majority of the participants involved in this research consider the sectarianism that occurs in Scotland to be amplified by the media coverage and its association with the old firm. 

There are, however, many questions that remain unanswered to fully understand whether rise in domestic abuse occurs surrounding Old Firm football matches and the historical religious sectarianism that surrounds these clubs are at the epicentre of the abuse or if there are other, more linear causal aspects such as alcohol, emotions and identity at the core of the rise. There is clearly not one explanation but a multitude of factors to consider and greater research in this area is needed to fully understand the identity and experience of football fandom and the potential links with violence observed following key matches. The current research has provided a basis from which to begin to understand the former; future research must now extend this work to establish causative factors for the latter to build meaningful and effective interventions to reduce post-key match violence.

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