Will you show your relationship the red card?

It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were cheering England on in the World Cup but with the Euros on the horizon, as well as hope that the team does better, a word of warning….

People in this country are often extremely passionate about football and the national team and that is to be commended. However, excitement, nerves, anger and disappointment – frequently fuelled by alcohol – don’t make for a good combination when it comes to relationships at home.

Often partners can totally lose their sense of perspective when it comes to such competitions, spending increased time away from their family, engrossed in games and reducing the quality of communication with their partners to a minimum.

It is widely recognised by family lawyers, police and domestic violence charities that when England plays in football tournaments, the number of incidents of domestic abuse increases dramatically.

The number of calls to helplines and the number of enquiries to Solicitors increased noticeably after the last World Cup, particularly on England’s exit from the competition.

Bear in mind also that when we speak of “domestic violence” we mean not only physical violence but psychological, emotional and sexual abuse as well.

It is a sad fact that often people cannot control their emotions or the passion that they have for sporting competitions or that they feel that it is acceptable to be a perpetrator of domestic abuse – although I’d hope the latter was rare. Sad to is the fact that many victims of domestic abuse may not recognise themselves as such or struggle on in the hope that things will change.

That said, the increased number of reported incidents after such sporting events as the World Cup suggests that either continuing abuse escalates to a point whereby the victim makes a report or that otherwise non-abusive relationships become abusive.

This year I would like to see people take time out with their partners and their family to make sure that their relationships don’t suffer and be mindful of their behaviour.

Have some insight and, if necessary, plan your time in advance – above all, put it into perspective….

However much we all want England to do well, is one competition worth the loss of a family? of a relationship?