Third of sports fans would rather watch at home to avoid being sprayed by beer

Home comforts rule the roost among fans

(Alamy)

As Gareth Southgate's team progressed to the World Cup semi-final, fans were filmed spraying themselves in beer every time England scored.

But a new survey of 2,000 sports viewers found 51 per cent would prefer to watch sports with friends in someone’s home rather than venturing out to the pub.

Of those, more than half said it was more comfortable while almost a third want to avoid being covered in beer by crowds during the celebration.

Others would rather stay away from the pub because there is no competition for space or chairs at home and to be able to rewind and re-watch key moments.

It also emerged six in 10 enjoyed playing host to friends and family to watch big sport events at their home with lots of snacks and plenty of drinks on offer considered key. Enough seats for all guests is also important along with having surround sound and good WiFi.

Fifteen per cent admitted they would be more likely to stay friends with someone if they had a good sport TV package they could use when there are big sporting events on.

When it came to foods, pizza, chips and dip and peanuts were named the best choices to serve up to guests, the survey commissioned by British mobile network operator, EE.

However, almost one in five admitted they found it hard to play host, one in four felt stressed and one in 10 felt nervous