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Football hooliganism

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Football hooliganism is a distinct form of disorderly behaviour or hooliganism in which participants are supporters or adherents of one or more football clubs or national teams, and is frequently, although not exclusively, evidenced at or immediately before or after matches.

Although football hooliganism has only attracted widespread media attention in the last 50 years or so, it has its roots as far back as the early days of the game in the late 1800s, when gangs of supporters would intimidate neighbourhoods, attack opposing supporters, or players and referees.

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England

Some of the information in this has not been [Verifiabilityverified] and might not be reliable. It should be checked for inaccuracies and modified as needed, [cite sourcesciting sources].
Football hooliganism, as it is currently recognised in England, has its roots in the 1960s, when levels of violence at, before and after matches rose sharply.[[Citing sources citation needed]] The government of the day responded with the Public Order Act (1968), which, amongst other provisions, allowed for the courts to ban offenders from football grounds.[The Taylor Report]: The Football Education Network website. Retrieved 9 July 2006. This however did little to staunch the waves of violence that erupted on match-days.[[Citing sources citation needed]] In 1985 the Heysel Stadium disaster, in which 39 people died in a pitched battle between Liverpool and Juventus supporters, marked a new and dismal nadir for English football.[[Citing sources citation needed]] The spotlight was turned sharply on football hooliganism, with English clubs banned from European competitions until 1990, with Liverpool banned an extra year.[[Citing sources citation needed]]

It was not however until the tragedy of the Hillsborough disaster that the Thatcher government acted, bringing in the Football Spectators Act (1989) in the wake of the Taylor Report.[[Citing sources citation needed]] However, as the Hillsborough Justice Campaign notes, "the British Judicial system has consistently found that violence or hooliganism played no part whatsoever in the disaster" [Hillsborough Justice Campaign]: Website. Retrieved 9 July 2006..

Football violence is now virtually non-existent domestically - much of the trouble now occurs at Major International tournaments.[[Citing sources citation needed]] France 98 was marred by violence as English fans clashed with the North African locals of Marseilles, which led to up to 100 fans being arrested.[England fans on rampage]: by Ben Fenton and Charles Masters. The Daily Telegraph, 15 June 1998. Retrieved 9 July 2006. In Euro 2000 England were threatened with expulsion from the tournament due to the poor behaviour of the fans.[[Citing sources citation needed]] Following good behaviour in Japan 2002 and Portugal 2004 the English reputation has improved. In Germany in 2006 there were limited incidences of violence with over two hundred preventative arrests in Stuttgart, with only three people being charged with criminal offences.[Fan fears grow ahead of England match] by Sean Ingle: The Guardian, 25 June 2006. Retrieved 9 July 2006.

Scotland

Scottish football hooligans are commonly known as 'Casuals'The term casual comes from the style of clothing worn by the perpetrators of football violence. Back in the 60's when fighting at football first became commonplace, police would be on the look out for fans wearing cheap work wear. Once this became apparent to those involved in the violence they started to wear the expensive 'casual' clothing favoured by the well-to-do fans, so as to avoid police attention. This taste for expensive clothing has extended through to the modern period where 'classic' gentleman's labels such as Burberry, Aquascutum and Paul and Shark, have been appropriated by the hooligans as their uniform. Although the wearing of such clothing to domestic football matches is now more likely to attract police attention than repel it. The very height of casual culture was the mid 1980's when hooligans following Liverpool through Europe would 'raid' couture boutiques across the mainland continent to steal the very latest trends. Hooliganism is more closely associated with the 'second tier' of clubs such as Aberdeen, Hibernian and Hearts, than with the Glasgow-based Old Firm of Celtic and Rangers. Some contend that the Glasgow teams fans have close links with paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland, and perhaps the most serious violence associated with supporters of these clubs occurs here, though media reports in Scotland inlight of Old Firm games often claim no trouble related to the matches, only trouble in the stadium and surrounding area is taken into account, fights and stabbings are common. It is not advisable to be in Glasgow city-centre, especially not in the colours of either team, after an old-firm match, particularly if the match has been ill tempered or one sided. It should be noted that the national team's travelling supporters, the Tartan Army, are world-renowned for their friendliness and general aversion to violence.

Recent years have seen a revival of "Casual" culture in Scottish football, with many groups now recruiting via the internet. Though these efforts seem doomed to failure because most Scottish football fans are against these types, an interesting quote from the former Celtic Soccer Casuals website was they got into more fights with other Celtic fans than other clubs.

See [this] article here for anti-casual measures being taken in Scotland.

Scandinavia

Hooliganism in Scandinavia became a growing problem in the 1980s, but pitch invasions and violence on, or in direct connection to the football grounds lessened in the later years of the 1990s, instead, organized football firms took on the role as the troublemakers in Scandinavian football, moving the problem relatively far away from the grounds and the regular supporters.

Hooliganism is said to have made the entrance in Sweden when supporters of IFK Göteborg invaded the pitch, destroyed the goals and fought the police in the end of the football match in 1970 that destined the club to be relegated from the highest league. In the end of the 1970s, inspired by the English football culture, many unruly supporter groups were created, including AIK's Black Army and Hammarby IF's Bajen Fans. The word huliganism was established in the Swedish language as a description of violence in connection with sport events, mainly football, in the early 1980s.

Hooliganism in Denmark is almost exclusively a domestic affair; the traveling supporters of the national team, known as roligans, are as renowned as the Scottish supporters (the Tartan Army) for their peaceful nature. However, there are a few hooligan groups, of which some occasionally engage in violence abroad, mainly in the Swedish part of the Oresund Region.

Brazil

What are often referred as the Brazilian hooligans are organized groups of supporters called "Torcidas Organizadas" which follow each club. Originally pacifist local fan clubs, or "charangas", were marching bands that played in the stadiums, but since the 1980´s many have become armed and violent resulting in deadly confrontations between rival clubs.

The origin of the "organizadas" was influenced by American youth movements such as the Black Panthers. The name "Jovem" (Portugese for "youth") became common in most organizadas that flourished in the period between 1969 and 1975. Members of such organized crowds hail from diverse backgrounds, since the culture is fueled by male dominated sexism rather than the racism most common with similar ultra movements in Argentina and Europe.

In Brazil, the football firms tend not to be restricted to the home states of the football teams. It´s quite common for a football firm to have members in others states. This way they can be subdivided into minor groups whose nominations vary accordingly with the firm itself (which would give them a stronger sense of identity) e.g: The Jovem Fla is divided in "Pelotões" (Platoons), the Furia Jovem in "Canis" (Kennels) Young Flu in "Núcleos" (Centers) and Força Jovem in "Familias" (Families). These subdivisions are numbered and each region of the city has its own subdivision.

Ground battles between swarms of rival supporters have gone from being in-stadium phenomena, as was common in the late 1980s and 1990s, to violent encounters across cities and recently characterized by the use of firearms. Only in the last 6 months, more than 8 deaths have been linked to hooligan groups including the murder of the president of Fortaleza EC division "Leões da TUF" in a sabotage gunfire attack by Furia Jovem members, supporters of the Botafogo FR side from Rio de Janeiro. In the last Corinthians - Palmeiras derby in São Paulo, a Palmeiras supporter member of the Mancha Verde division was shot to death in the São Paulo Metro, while a Corinthians suppoerter was gunned down on his way home. Back in 1995, state of São Paulo federal attorney Fernando Capez shut down the major Torcidas organizadas, such as Mancha Verde of Palmeiras and Independente of São Paulo FC, an effort that in the long run was proved to have been inefficient due to the fact that the organizations maintained their structure, exponentially growing in a clandestine manner, which only made them more dangerous. These hooligan gangs are notorious for their in stadium beautiful spectacles, with huge flags and banners. Off the field they are organized in regional blocks or cells divided by different parts of town.

What is also very strong in Brazil is the friendship and unity between crowds of clubs from different cities that share common rivals. The best-known of these alliances is the one between Força Jovem of CR Vasco da Gama, Mancha Verde of Palmeiras, Galoucura of Atletico Mineiro and Super Raça of Grêmio. Some of these organizations are often supported by their clubs who pay their match tickets and transportation to away games, but also the hardcore supporters gangs are involved in other actions, such as Brazil´s largest crowd Gaviões da Fiel of SC Corinthians is renown for its carnaval samba school, several times champion of the São Paulo Carnaval.

In 2003, the government passed a new legislation called the "Supporters Statute" that forced clubs to better conditions of the grounds in order for supporters to be more respected. The law has yet to show results, since Brazil's social problems reflected among hooligan groups go far beyond football.

When it comes to national teams, the supporters of the local organized crowds are rarely ever involved, and Brazil supporters have a nearly spotless reputation on the international stage.

Here is a list of the major supporter groups in Brazil, by team:

Turkey

The profile of football hooliganism in Turkey has increased due to several high profile incidents in recent years, a large proportion of those incidents have been involved with Galatasaray. Galatasaray are more recognised than other Turkish teams for football hooliganism due to their participation in European competitions, which have attracted a large amount of media attention.

In April 2000, on the eve of Galatasaray’s UEFA Cup semi-final first leg match against Leeds United, street violence erupted between people claiming to be local Galatasaray fans and visiting Leeds supporters. Two Leeds fans were stabbed to death, and Galatasaray fans were banned from travelling to the away leg. Leeds fans and officials were later outraged as while a message of condolence was read out for the victims, the home fans jeered[link]. Galatasaray’s players also refused to wear black arm bands. The Leeds chairman at the time, Peter Ridsdale, accused Galatasaray as "showing a lack of respect"[link]. A man was later arrested and sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment. However, the sentence was subsequently reduced to 5 years on the basis of heavy provocation. The violence is said to have broke out after a Leeds fan insulted a van driver[link]. Turkish accounts said many of the English fans were drunk and provoked the violence, harassing women on the streets and making obscene gestures with the Turkish flag which is considered sacred in Turkey and was judged to have amounted to heavy provocation. English fans said they were ambushed by Turkish youths armed with knives who were out to stir up trouble. Galatasaray later disassociated themselves with the murderers, claiming that they were not fans after all.

Further incidents between Galatasaray’s hooligan elements have occurred between rival fans of Paris St-Germain[link], Arsenal [link] and A.S. Roma [link]. Despite the Galatasaray’s notoriety with hooliganism, the club’s hooligan element is still only minority of fans.[[Citing sources citation needed]]

Ethnic violence

The Australian National Soccer League was dogged with ethnic rivalries: Today the NSL has been replaced by the Hyundai A-League, which is structured to have only one team per city. This makes it virtually impossible for any team to be identified with a single ethnic community.

See also

Notes

External links

 

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