Football hooligan

This is a background article. See Psychological research into football hooligan behaviour

Football hooliganism is hooliganism by football club supporters. It sometimes takes place immediately before or after football matches.

It first appeared in the late 1800s, when gangs of supporters would intimidate neighborhoods, as well as attack referees and opposing supporters and players. Football hooliganism started attracting widespread media attention in the 1950s, due to its re-emergence in Latin America.

Latin America
Football hooliganism first emerged in Latin America in the late 1950s as rival fan clubs battled it out after hotly disputed games. Argentina and Brazil have had a long standing problem with soccer related violence, particularly in the 1960s and early 1970s. Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Chile have also witnessed strife recently. There have been several crackdowns on this sort of behavior since the late 1970s due to pressure by international and domestic football associations. Argentina and Brazil are all well known for their conflicts and hostile pitch invasions. These pitch invasions often involve flares, riot police and tear gas. El Salvador and Honduras had a brief, but notorious conflict called the 1969 Soccer War, due to a game that inflamed an already tense political situation. The game did not actually cause the war, but it did cause relations between locals and migrants from the two nations to break down.

Denmark
Hooliganism in Denmark is almost exclusively a domestic affair. The travelling supporters of the Danish national team, known as roligans, are as renowned as the Scottish Tartan Army for their peaceful nature. However, there are a few hooligan groups the main ones follow the two rival clubs FC København and Brøndby. They occasionally engage in violence. More hooligan groups have emerged though. And now almost all the teams in the highest league in the Danish football leaguse system, the SAS Ligaen have a firm such as Odense BK, AC Horsens, Aalborg BK etc.

England
Football hooliganism in England is believed to have started at the end of the nineteenth century, when people often described as "roughs" caused minor disturbances. By the 1960s, hooliganism had become a more serious problem. This led the government to respond with the 1968 Public Order Act, which, amongst other provisions, allowed the courts to ban offenders from football grounds. The term English Disease is sometimes used to describe football hooliganism. .

In the 1960s, when fighting at football was commonplace in the United Kingdom, British police would be on the lookout for fans wearing skinhead fashions or  cheap work wear. In response, many hardcore hooligans started to wear more expensive gentlemen's clothing brands (sometimes looted from designer boutiques during riots in European competitions). This led to the development of the casual subculture. Brands popular with casuals have included: Burberry, Ben Sherman, Polo Ralph Lauren, Stone Island, Aquascutum and Paul & Shark. Now the wearing of such clothing at football matches is more likely to attract, than repel police attention.

In 1985, the Heysel Stadium disaster resulted in 39 Juventus supporters being crushed to death when a fence separating them from Liverpool fans collapsed, leading to a violent confrontation. The spotlight was quickly turned on football hooliganism, with English clubs banned from European competitions until 1990 (with Liverpool banned an extra year). It was not until the Hillsborough disaster (in which 96 fans died due to a failure of police to control a large crowd, coupled with poor safety standards) that the Margaret Thatcher government acted, bringing in the Football Spectators Act (1989) in the wake of the Taylor Report. 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".

English and German fans have had a longstanding rivalry, and began to riot against each other in the late 1980s. This subsequently brought English and German fans' reputations to an all time low in the late 1990s. Other occasional clashes have also occurred with a few other teams since the mid 1980s. France 98 was marred by violence as English fans clashed with the Muslim North African locals of Marseille, which led to up to 100 fans being arrested.

In the 2000s, English football hooligans often wear clothing styles that are stereotypically associated with the chav subculture, such as those from the labels Prada and Burberry. This has encouraged the two companies to withdraw certain garments over fears that their brands are becoming linked with hooliganism. English hooligans have become more advanced in the way they plan their fights, often using Internet message boards, mobile phones and text messages. These hooligans often post messages on other hooligan sites to tempt rival gangs into meeting up for fights. Sometimes people at the fights post live commentaries on the Internet.

Football violence in stadiums declined domestically since the introduction of the Football Spectators Act, and in the 2000s much of the trouble has instead occurred away from grounds and at major international tournaments. At Euro 2000, the England team was threatened with expulsion from the tournament, due to the poor behaviour of the fans. Following good behaviour in Korea-Japan 2002 and Portugal 2004, the English reputation has improved. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, there were limited incidences of violence, with over 200 preventative arrests in Stuttgart (with only three people being charged with criminal offences). However, 400 others were taken into preventative custody. During that day, Police believe that on average each rioter consumed or threw 17 litres of alcohol.

Despite hooliganism declining domestically, death threats by English hooligans have become more common in the 2000s. Rio Ferdinand was the target of death threats from Leeds United fans, as was Peter Ridsdale. Swedish referee Anders Frisk quit his position after receiving death threats from Chelsea F.C. fans. Reading players Ibrahima Sonko and Stephen Hunt also received death threats from Chelsea fans in 2006.

It has been documented that most English hooligans are in their late teens or early twenties, although it is not uncommon for older hooligans to take part (usually as leaders). They usually come from working class backgrounds, mainly employed in manual or lower clerical occupations, or (to a lesser extent) are working in the grey market or are unemployed.

France
On May 24, 2001, six supporters of French club Paris St. Germain attacked Galatasaray supporters before a Champions League match. The six, who are members of an official PSG fan club, were charged with assault, carrying weapons, throwing missiles on the pitch, and racism-related charges. The investigation, led by Parisian judge Jean-Batpiste Parlos, alleged that the six had deliberately entered the part of the Parc des Princes stadium where French supporters of Turkish origin were standing in order to attack them. Fifty people were injured during a melee between Turkish and French fans at a match between Turkish club Galatasaray and Paris Saint-Germain of France. Footage from surveillance cameras at Parc des Princes stadium helped investigators to identify the fans involved in the violence, the sources said.

Security, media and the club administration of Paris St. Germain were reported as attempting to cover this up, and made accusations including that the Turkish supporters at the match — despite being overwhelmingly outnumbered —  were able to inflict large numbers of casualties upon the French supporters while taking on only one casualty themselves. It was later reported that stadium security allowed French supporters to carry in staves, while confiscating flags from Turkish supporters —  apparently in an attempt to allow armed French supporters to attack Turkish supporters.

Interviews with gang members, and repeated visits to the stadium for PSG games, found that racist hooligans operate openly and with almost total impunity at the 43,000-seat grounds. That stadium hosted some matches during the 1998 World Cup, which France won with a team dominated by players from former colonies in Africa.

Before a home game against Sochaux on January 4, 2006, two Arab youths were punched and kicked by white fans outside the entrance to the Kop de Boulogne. Ushers, all white, stood chatting and did not intervene. On March 7, 2006, a Paris court convicted three PSG supporters for unfurling a racist banner at a February 2005 match.

PSG’s hooligan problem seriously escalated against the backdrop of the club’s success in Europe in the 1990s. The club reached the 1995 Champions League semifinals, won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1996, and lost the final the following year. PSG hooligans made their mark by brawling with opposing hooligans from Juventus, Arsenal, Anderlecht, Glasgow Rangers, Liverpool and Bayern Munich. In September 2004, a 150-strong PSG mob attacked around 50 Chelsea hooligans (known as the Headhunters) near Porte de Saint-Cloud Metro station. After Paris Saint-Germain's second round of UEFA Cup group match against Hapoel Tel Aviv, on November 24, 2006, which they lost 4-2, hooligans from non-recognized groups in Boulogne, associated with far-right, racism and antisemitism, used violence as a mean of showing discontent of the team's defeat, in conjunction with the club's poor domestic league, and the fact to be beaten by an Israeli team, a group of supporters theratened a fan of Hapoel Tel Aviv and a black policeman came to defend the fan. The hooligans stared derogatory phrases against the policeman, who, after firing tear gas, shot twice with his gun and killed a PSG fan and wounded another one.

Germany
German football hooliganism started at about the same time as the English phenomenon but has never become as widespread as in England, although German fans severely injured a French police officer during rioting at the World Cup in France 1998. German authorities, like Italian, have often been accused of trying to down play incidents of football related violence. In recent years, acts of hooliganism have been concentrated among supporters of eastern German football clubs and lower league or amateur clubs around the country. German authorities have now reduced its prevalence with tougher laws.

Italy
Hooliganism in Italy started in the 1970s, and increased in the 1980s and 1990s. It grew in the early 2000s, becoming a serious problem for Italian football. Italian ultras have very well organized groups that fight against other football supporters and the Italian Police and Carabinieri, using also knives and baseball bats at many matches of Serie A and lower championships.

Football hooliganism in Italy often has strong parochial and political connotations. Many team supporters consider other team supporters as enemies, and some clubs associated with hooliganism are Atalanta B.C., Brescia Calcio, Hellas Verona F.C., A.S. Livorno Calcio, AS Roma, S.S. Lazio, S.S.C. Napoli, Salernitana Calcio 1919, S.S. Cavese 1919, Taranto Sport, Calcio Catania, U.S. Città di Palermo, F.C. Messina, as well as several clubs in lower championship series. Now the major clubs of A.C. Milan, Internazionale and Juventus F.C. are less related with hooliganism.

The most common actions by Italian hooligans have included pitch invasions and the throwing of objects onto the field or against opponents. These weapons include stones, heavy marbles, staves, Molotov cocktails, flares, fireworks, firecrackers, paper firebombs, stadium seats, taps stolen from the stadium toilets, flagpoles, pipes, knives, baseball bats, nightsticks, traffic signs. These riots have forced referees to suspend many matches. Italian hooligans usually hold flags and sing football chants that encourage violence and riots, and some songs are racist against black players and include ethnic slurs.

In 1999, four supporters of Salernitana Calcio 1919 died on a train in a fire caused by fireworks, In 2001, a scooter was thrown down in San Siro Stadium, Milan. On February 2, 2007, rioting resulted in all Italian football fixtures being suspended, after a police officer was killed during a match between Calcio Catania and U.S. Città di Palermo (see 2007 Catania football violence). At first it was alleged that the officer was killed by a homemade bomb, but it was later reported that damage to his liver was caused by blunt force trauma. An additional 120 people, including police and Carabinieri, were wounded.

On numerous occasions, travelling English supporters have been attacked in Italy when their teams played there. One incident involved a Leeds United supporter being stabbed before a Champions League match. In another incident, three Middlesbrough fans were stabbed before the club's UEFA Cup clash against AS Roma in the Italian capital. A group of extremist Roma ultras have been being blamed for the attack. Reports said they were led by a man wielding an axe. Other cases of hooliganism and intimidatory behavior include envelopes being sent to A.C. Milan and F.C. Internazionale Milano, which included bullets and written threats.

On 4 April, 2007 AS Roma and Manchester United fans were involved in clashes during UEFA Champions League match. Roma and Manchester United fans were seperated in one area of the ground by a plastic barrier, with riot police positioned only on the English fans side. After each goal both sets of fans surged toward the barrier, with at one stage the riot police repeatedly striking Manchester United fans with batons and shields. No Roma fans were similarily striked by the riot police as they had no presence on the Roma fans side of the barrier. One Manchester United fan was stabbed on his way to the match, and eleven fans taken to hospital. Two Roma fans also received hospital treatment. Despite UEFA promising to investigate the incident, and the British Home Office Minister, Vernon Coaker, calling for answers to whether the Italian police were justified, the head of Rome police, Achille Serra, claimed that the police action was justified and that there would be no inquiry, unless he was shown evidence of alleged police brutality. And this, despite live TV pictures during the match, showing riot police apparently indiscriminately hitting and beating Manchester United fans whilst taking no action against Roma fans.

Netherlands
It is a common conception that football hooliganism in the Netherlands only began in earnest after incidents between Feyenoord and English club Tottenham Hotspur in the 1974 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final, in which large-scale rioting took place. Since then, several Netherlands clubs have been associated with hooliganism, such as Ajax Amsterdam, Feyenoord, FC Twente, PSV Eindhoven, FC Utrecht, F. C. Den Bosch, Ado Den Haag and FC Groningen. The biggest rivalry is between Ajax and Feyenoord.

The most violent encounter has been the battle of Beverwijk(March 23, 1997), in which several people were seriously injured, and Carlo Picornie was killed. On April 15, 2004, Ajax hooligans attacked under-21 Feyenoord players during a match against the Ajax under-21 team. On December 16, 2000, there was a big football-related riot in which Pierre Bouleij was killed by police and a match between VVV and FC Den Bosch was cancelled. After this, three days of unrest occurred in the Graafse Wijk (a neighbourhood in Den Bosch), and over 300 football hooligans fought against the police. In 2006, a riot broke out between Dutch and French fans.

Norway
Hooliganism is a rather new phenomenon in Norway, and only occasionally takes place. Teams such as Vålerenga I.F., Lillestrøm S.K., Hamarkameratene, Tønsberg, Rosenborg B.K., S.K. Brann, Viking F.K. and Fredrikstad F.K. are said to have some form of hooligan firms or casuals. In Oslo, there are sometimes incidents of hooliganism related to inter-city matches (Vålerenga, FC Lyn Oslo, Stabæk I.F. and Lillestrøm S.K.) and matches between Rosenborg B.K. and Brann. There have been incidents of racism, such as when the American black player, Robbie Russell, was spit at by angry Brann fans, while playing for Sogndal in a Norwegian Premier League match.

Portugal
Football riots were very common in Portugal during the 1990s and early 2000s. Football hooliganism in that country has decreased since then, but there have still been some incidents, mainly involving supporters of FC Porto, Sporting CP, SL Benfica and Vitória de Guimarães. Violence it is more common in the lower divisions.

Scotland
Almost every Scottish football club from the first division up has a hooligan firm. However, the Scotland national team's travelling supporters, the Tartan Army, are world-renowned for their friendliness and general aversion to violence. Scottish casuals are generally not from deprived backgrounds, and their hooliganism reached its peak in the 1980s. Pre-arranged fights between firms on match days take place away from the football grounds. The 2000s have seen a revival of casual culture in Scottish football, with many groups recruiting via the Internet. However, these efforts seem doomed to failure because most Scottish football fans are against this behaviour, and authorities have taken several measures to reduce football hooliganism.

Celtic and Rangers are the two biggest teams in Glasgow, and the Old Firm rivalry is one of the most heated football rivalries in the world. The hooliganism associated with this rivalry tends to be spontaneous, and fueled by alcohol consumption, instead of pre-planned by organized hooligan firms (although both teams do have firms). The Old Firm rivalry is largely motivated by religious sectarianism, and is related to the conflict between Loyalists and Republicans in Northern Ireland. Rangers' Inter City Firm also has a rivalry with the Aberdeen Soccer Casuals, and another Rangers hooligan firm is Her Majesty's Service.

Other Scottish teams with large hooligan followings include Airdrie United, Aberdeen, Partick Thistle, Hearts, Hibernian, and Motherwell. Scottish hooligan firms include Hibernian's Capital City Service and St Mirren's Love St Division. Airdrie's Section B and Motherwell's Saturday Service enjoy a fierce rivalry, and there has been hooliganism after games on many occasions.

Spain
Football hooliganism in Spain is often linked to racism, and many black players are victims of ethnic slurs. Samuel Eto'o, who is a Barcelona F.C. player from Cameroon, has denounced the problem. The strong rivalry beetween Real Madrid and Barcelona F.C. has led to hooliganism, such as Luis Figo (who transferred from Barcelona to Real Madrid) being hit by a pig's head.

As in Italy politics has a strong influence in hooliganism. Frequently the teams have supporter's firms linked to extremist ideologies.

In 1998, a supporter of Real Sociedad was killed by an ultra of Atlético de Madrid linked to a neo-nazi group, just before a match between these two teams.

In 2003, a supporter of Deportivo La Coruna was killed in riots by hooligans supporting the same team, because he attempted to protect a supporter of the opposing team, SD Compostela. Since then, authorities have attempted to get hooliganism more under control.

In 2007, there were acts of hooliganism before a match between Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid with several cars destroyed and policemen injured by flares and bottles which where thrown at them.

Violence is more common in the lower divisions, where security measures are worse.

Sweden
Hooliganism in Scandinavia became a growing problem in the 1980s, but pitch invasions and violence in direct connection to the football grounds decreased in the late 1990s. Organized football firms took on the role of 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 goalposts and fought the police in the end of a 1970 football match 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 Djurgårdens IF's Blue Saints, AIK's Black Army and Hammarby IF's Bajen Fans. Nowadays, these supporter clubs are quite friendly. The biggest firms in Sweden are at the moment Djurgårdens Fina Grabbar (Djurgården), Firman Boys (AIK), Wisemen (IFK Gothenburg), Frontline (Helsingborg) and Kompisgänget Bajen (Hammarby). The word huliganism was established in the Swedish language as a description of sports-related violence in the early 1980s.

Switzerland
Football riots with extreme fans and ultras are a relatively new phenomena in this country. One infamous incident occurred on the last day of the 2005-06 season, when FC Zürich defeated FC Basel at St. Jakob Park to win the championship with a last-minute goal. Basel were just seconds away from defending their title. After the final whistle, angry Basel hooligans stormed the field and attacked Zürich players. The Zürich team were forced to celebrate in the upper deck of the stands while the rioting continued down below. There was similar chaos in the streets that night. See 2006 Basel Hooligan Incident.

Turkey
According to the Turkish Daily News, hooligan groups are well organised, have their own "leaders", and often consist of organised street fighters. These groups have a "racon" (code of conduct), which states that the intention must be to injure rather than kill and that a stab must be made below the waist. Other hooligans have fired firearms into the air to celebrate their team’s victory, which has been known to accidentally kill innocent people watching the celebrations on their balconies.

Trouble has arisen during matches between Istanbul rivals Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe. However, the Turkish Football Federation has tightened security to try and contain the hooliganism. During the 2005 Turkish cup final between Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, 8,000 police, stewards and officials were employed to prevent violence.

In 2006, the Turkish Football Federation introduced new measures to combat the threat of hooliganism and have made new regulations that allow the Professional Football Disciplinary Board to fine clubs up to YTL 250,000 for their fans behavior. Repeat offenders could be fined up to YTL 500,000. Despite reports from the Turkish Football Federation, the Turkish police believe that football hooliganism is not a major threat and are "isolated incidents".

Before Galatasaray’s semi-final UEFA Cup match with Leeds United AFC in 2000, two Leeds fans, Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight, were stabbed to death in Istanbul following street fights between Turkish and British hooligans. UEFA allowed the game to proceed and Galatasaray won 2-0.

Leeds complained because home fans jeered while a message of condolence was read for the victims. Galatasaray's players refused to wear black arm bands. The Leeds chairman at the time, Peter Ridsdale, accused Galatasaray of "showing a lack of respect". He also revealed that his teams' players had received death threats before the match.

Ali Umit Demi was arrested and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for the stabbing, but the sentence was reduced to 5 years on the basis of heavy provocation, while five others were given lesser sentences of under four months. The families of those accused of attacking with knives are reported to have defended their actions and approved of their children punishing the "rude British people".

Galatasaray fans were banned from traveling to the return match to try and avoid further clashes between fans, although there were reports of attacks by Leeds fans on Turkish television crews and the police. However the Assistant Chief Constable in charge of policing the game believed that the number of arrests was "no worse than a normal high category game".

Hakan Şükür was hit with projectiles from Leeds United supporters and the Galatasaray team bus was stoned after driving through an underpass. The game saw Emre Belözoğlu and Harry Kewell sent off and Galatasaray sealed their way to the final with a 2-2 score.

Violence also occurred between Arsenal fans and Galatasaray fans before the Final in Copenhagen in which a Galatasary fan, an Arsenal fan and a Dane were said to have been stabbed. Galatasaray later won the match after a penalty shoot-out.

Wales
Many hooligan fights have occurred in Cardiff during the 1970s and 1980s, mainly due to their infamous Soul Crew. In 2002, Cardiff City was linked to hooliganism because of trouble after matches with Leeds, Stoke and Swansea, and for a number of years has had more fans banned from games than any other team in the English leagues. Swansea City also has a history of violence between them and Cardiff, Millwall and Nottingham Forest. For example, in October 2006 Swansea played Millwall at home and beat them 2-0. After the match Swansea didn't get hassled with Millwall fans but with the police who wouldn't let them past. High security is now placed in the Liberty Stadium with the main link road being closed after mainmatches.

Poland
Poland was the first eastern European country to start up football hooliganism. On March 30, 2003, it was reported that Polish police arrested 120 people because rival football supporters fought during a match between Slask Wroclaw and Arka Gdynia. During the riot, hooligans pelted police officers with stones, and fought a running battle with knives and axes. One victim was found lying seriously injured at the scene, and later died in hospital. In UEFA Cup 1998-99 Italian footballer Dino Baggio, from Parma F.C. was hit with a knife in head by Wisla Krakow supporters.

Russia
Football hooliganism has become prevalent in Russia since the beginning of the 2000s. The usual victims of Russian hooligans are supporters of Japanese, Polish and Ukrainian teams. Russian hooligans often have an underlying racist resentment towards Russia's perceived political rivals.

Former Yugoslavia
Football hooligans associated with the former Yugoslav states Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia have rioted over inter-ethic resentments that were reignited by the breakup of the Yugoslav federation in the 1990s. The four most notorious hooligan firms are Torcida (Hajduk Split), Bad Blue Boys (Dinamo Zagreb), Delije (Crvena Zvezda) and Grobari (Partizan). All of these groups rank among the most violent hooligan groups in the world. Torcida is the oldest organised football fan club in the world.. In the match between Italy and Croatia, some Croatian hooligans choreographed their positions in the stands in order to form the shape of a Swastika.

Bangladesh
Football violence started in Bangladesh around the early 2000s. Hardline fans occasionally clash, but it's not on the same scale as in Europe or Latin America.

China
China has started to have football hooligans in the 2000s. Chinese authorities have harshly dealt with hooliganism.

Israel and the Palestinian Territories
In the 2000s, the Middle East crisis has spilled over into sporadic riots between Israeli and Palestinian or Egyptian football fans. There are also riots in many matches beetween Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin FC, because the first team is more related with Jewish people and the second with Arabs and the match shows the conflict beetween those groups.

North Korea
There was a brief riot between Iranian and North Korean fans at an international match in 2005. It appears that a North Korean player got into an argument with the Syrian referee, and then things got out of hand, stadium seats were threw into the pitch, there was a pitch invasion and the fans rioted the police.

Africa
Football hooliganism in Africa seems to be confined to Mali, Togo, Mozambique, Mauritius, Zimbabwe and South Africa international matches. Egypt has also had a few anti-Libyan and anti-Israeli clashes.