THE spectacle is depressingly familiar 鈥� angry supporters of losing sports teams venting their frustration through violence and rioting. It is what happened in London鈥檚 Trafalgar Square in 1996, after England鈥檚 soccer team lost to Germany. But surprisingly, things might have been even worse had England won.
That鈥檚 according to an analysis by Vaseekaran Sivarajasingam, a surgeon at Cardiff University in Wales based on admissions to the University Hospital of Wales鈥檚 accident and emergency department, also in Cardiff. The city is home to the 74,500-seat Millennium Stadium, scene of numerous sporting events, including Wales鈥檚 recent grand slam victory in rugby union鈥檚 Six Nations championship.
The team focused on the 106 international rugby or soccer matches between 1995 and 2002. On non-match days, the number of assault victims averaged 21 per day, and on match days when Wales lost this rose to 25. But the situation was worse after a win, with 33 admissions per day on average (Injury Prevention, vol 11, p 69).
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Sivarajasingam blames fans鈥� extra swagger when they win, aggravated by drunken celebrations. 鈥淎lcohol is a big part in this,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd when people mingle around in a heightened state of self-assertiveness and confidence, they are more likely to resolve an argument with a fight.鈥�
