France reported two dead and hundreds arrested after the PSG Champions League win. This case of the PSG win is an example of how male violence, especially in cases of sports events, is normalized. Last year, I was watching the Men’s EURO final (2024) in a bar in Amsterdam with two other friends. The game was Spain against England, and we knew what to expect after the game: violence and drunkenness, and how unsafe the streets would be after such a huge game, no matter who would win or lose. British drunk men are a striking example, in Amsterdam and elsewhere, of how normalized sports-related violence is. The number of outbursts of violence I have witnessed in front of football games and sports events is crazy. The case of the Israeli hooligans clashing with other supporters in Amsterdam (November 2024), while singing anti-Palestinian chants, is a disgusting example of how violent supporters can be. Violent acts seem normalized when committed based on a team’s winning or losing. In either joy or anger, sports events are huge scenes of violence.
While we can easily witness what is happening in the streets, most violent events happening as a consequence of a football game happen in the domestic and private sphere. In instances of international football games specifically, domestic abuse is expected to spike. Research has evaluated the effects of emotional cues (whether positive or negative) and their impact on the rise of violence against women and children. Domestic abuse incidents increase by 26% when their national team plays, and 38% in the case of a loss. In both cases of a loss or a win, domestic abuse increases. The effect of alcohol on violence is also a very important factor and affects the rise of family violence.
The footage of the PSG win that we can find from that night in the streets of Paris says a lot about men’s appropriation of the public space and how hostile they made it for women to be in. Almost nothing has been said about the violence that women have been victims of during the celebrations of the win of the PSG. Women were sexually harassed, insulted, and even threatened because they were not wearing the PSG jersey, for instance. This win is another striking example of the normalization of sports-related violence. I am French, and celebrating a sports win, just like we did for the win of the men’s football World Cup 2018 in France, can be amazing; it is a fantastic event that brings us together. Instead, supporters (especially men) use a sports win or loss as an excuse for violence; they become uncontrollably violent and disrespectful.
The fact that the PSG won also contributes to the fact that violence against women has been excused and not dealt with. As a woman, why would I not be able to celebrate in the streets as well in peace? In both private and public settings, violence sparks everywhere.
So, who’s acting too emotional now?
Recommended reads:
Card, D., And Dahl, G.B. (2010). Family Violence and Football: The Effect of Unexpected Emotional Cues on Violent Behavior.
