Football prefered over sex

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It is an average match night in Spain. The bar is full, the beer is flowing and all eyes are on the TV as the game gets under way. Meanwhile their wives and girlfriends once more have to content themselves with other things while their partners cheer on Real Madrid or Barca.

These viudas de fútbol - football widows - who lose out on a sex life to the beautiful game are not isolated cases. According to a survey, seven out of 10 Spanish football fans prefer watching the match to making love.

The survey of 2,000 fans in 17 European countries was conducted for Champions League sponsor Canon by the British Social Issues Research Centre. The results went one step further to prove what many have feared for some time - Spaniards are obsessed by football.

More than six out of 10 said they planned their lives around the next match between Valencia and Villareal or Real Madrid and Málaga. Spaniards are also the most superstitious fans in Europe, with 69 per cent saying they performed some ritual in the hope that it would help their team to win.

Football-mad Brits are just not aroused in the same way - 66 per cent of those questioned admitted they had cried over a match, like Paul Gascoigne who famously broke down in tears after England were beaten by West Germany on penalties in the 1990 World Cup semi-finals.

Surprisingly, the online study found that Swedish were the most passionate - 88 per cent said that they had kissed or embraced a stranger during a game.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/25/spain