Major sports events increase racial hate crimes by 30 per cent, finds new research by the University of Cologne.

The study, conducted by Dr Christof Nägel, investigated the number of racial hate crimes that occurred in the weeks after England’s defeat at the men’s UEFA Euro 2020 final.

They found that there was a rise in racially motivated hate crimes in London by 30 per cent in the weeks after the event, and this was particularly the case when athletes who belong to an ethnic or religious minority are blamed for a country’s poor performance.

Not only did the players receive racial abuse online, but the study also reveals that racially motivated hate crimes increased in London boroughs with a history of such violence. This highlights that trigger events, such as major football tournaments, can reinforce individuals' attitudes towards race.

“Previous research on the ‘Salah effect’ has shown that exposure to ethnic minorities who perform exceptionally well over several seasons, like Mohammed Salah, can reduce prejudice and hate crimes towards athletes in minority groups. However, our study reveals that it takes just one unfortunate game to undo this,” says Dr Nägel.

The researchers also found that these results are not limited to the Euro 2020 and London, online backlash against black minorities also occurred after the recent World Cup in 2022.

France lost the final against Argentina, after a penalty shootout, and the two French players who missed decisive penalties were targeted with racist online abuse.

“These sentiments largely align with the notion of scapegoating and demonstrate how common racial abuse is after the “underperformance” of minority football players,” says Dr Nägel.

The research used official hate crime data in London recorded by the Metropolitan Police from 2021 and will be published in Sociological Science.