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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Nils BraakmannORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2026 The Author(s). Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics published by Oxford University and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.While the relationship between football matches and crime has been well documented, little is known about whether such events also escalate violent interactions between police officers and civilians. This study addresses that gap by analysing use of force data from the Metropolitan Police Service in London to assess the impact of football matches on police behaviour. We find that on match days, the number of use of force incidents increases by an average of 0.772 in the boroughs where games are held. This effect is geographically concentrated around football stadium and is primarily driven by matches involving popular clubs, or those with violent fan bases. We find no evidence of spatial or temporal displacement of incidents. We also find some suggestive evidence that incidents may be more frequent in the case of unexpected losses. We make the case that despite the long-standing association between football and crime, the effects are considerably smaller compared to other popular mass events.
Author(s): Braakmann N, Chung A, Reade J, Rossi G
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics
Year: 2026
Pages: epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 26/05/2026
Acceptance date: 24/04/2026
Date deposited: 24/04/2026
ISSN (print): 0305-9049
ISSN (electronic): 1468-0084
Publisher: Wiley
URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/obes.70086
DOI: 10.1111/obes.70086
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