More than a quarter of football fans injured themselves while celebrating a goal last season, with Tottenham Hotspur supporters the most likely to hurt themselves, according to new research.
Researchers at Ladbrokes quizzed 1,500 fans across the UK to find out how many had suffered an injury as a result of celebrating 'too wildly' when their team netted. The overall injury rate across all 20 Premier League teams last season - including newly promoted Coventry City, Hull City, and Ipswich Town - was 28%.
Most common injuries
Among the most common injuries were falling over a seat and landing badly at a game, with home-based injuries including bashing into the television, tripping on a rug, or falling over a chair or sofa. Most injuries were relatively minor, with scrapes, bumps and bruises, and the odd sprain and cut - none of which needed a trip to A&E.
A total of 5% of fans, however, said they had broken a bone while celebrating a goal for their team and had to make a trip to their local hospital.
Spurs fans the clumsiest
The study found that the fans most likely to hurt themselves during a goal celebration were Spurs supporters, with those supporting Brighton the least likely to come a cropper. Spurs fan Lester Pollard, 41, of Hackney, east London, said two of his friends both injured themselves last season while celebrating goals - one at the new stadium and one at home watching the game on TV.
The sofa designer said: "I was lucky last year and didn't injure myself, although I've had a few scrapes and bumps in the past while jumping around celebrating a goal. Two of my friends, however, weren't so lucky. One of them sprained his ankle and broke his little finger after falling over his seat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and the other got a nasty gash on his head after tripping over his dog as he jumped around at home."
Full list of teams
Nicola McGeady of Ladbrokes said: "Football is all about moments, and it is hard to top the feeling of a last-minute winner, even if it does leave you with the odd bruise or bump on the head." Ladbrokes' new free-to-play game Seven allows customers to pick seven Premier League players each gameweek, with the chance to win prizes if any three chosen players score first or last during their match. There is a jackpot prize for seven correct predictions.
With the new season having just kicked off, Ladbrokes revealed the Premier League of Goal-Based Injuries for fans:
- Tottenham Hotspur - 34%
- Nottingham Forest - 33%
- Aston Villa - 32%
- Ipswich Town - 32%
- Arsenal - 31%
- Hull City - 31%
- Sunderland - 30%
- Bournemouth - 30%
- Chelsea - 30%
- Brentford - 29%
- Leeds United - 29%
- Fulham - 29%
- Newcastle United - 28%
- Crystal Palace - 28%
- Coventry City - 27%
- Liverpool - 26%
- Manchester City - 25%
- Manchester United - 25%
- Everton - 25%
- Brighton & Hove Albion - 22%
