Blocking the television has been named the worst “World Cup viewing offence” in new research revealing the habits that spark the biggest arguments in football-loving households.
With fans gearing up for a summer of major tournament drama, new polling has highlighted the everyday behaviours most likely to earn a “red card” during match time — from channel-hopping to spoiled scores and remote-control disputes.
According to research carried out by EDF, obstructing the TV was voted the most serious offence, with 44% of respondents saying it warrants an immediate send-off. Changing the channel mid-match followed at 34%, while shouting out the score before others had seen it came in at 30%.
Other controversial matchday behaviours also featured heavily, with some actions falling into the “yellow card” category rather than a straight red.
The survey also found that 66% of UK households expect some form of “matchday divide” this summer, with football fans and non-fans often at odds over how to spend 90 minutes of shared screen time.
While many supporters plan to watch every minute, others are opting out entirely. Around 17% of non-fans say they will leave the room during matches, choosing instead to switch to another device (36%), go online shopping (21%), or even wash and dry their hair (17%).
Meanwhile, 33% will stay in the same room as football fans, but may distract themselves by gaming online or using headphones to block out the noise.
Others admit they would rather use match time productively, with 41% choosing to do washing, 32% cooking, and 19% baking instead of watching the game.
FIFA World Cup 2026.
With an estimated 34 million England and Scotland fans expected to tune in this summer, 73% of respondents believe football fixtures could increase household electricity use. To ease the strain, EDF is offering customers two hours of free electricity during each England and Scotland match.
RTÉ Player will streaming all 104 World Cup games live for Irish audiences.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the biggest in the competition’s history, with 48 nations competing across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
It will be the first time the tournament has been staged across three host nations.
While there will be no Irish team taking part, the tournament will be closely followed by Irish football fans.
The first game kicks off next Thursday, June 11.
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