HOOLIGANISM
EVOLUTION IN THE UK
DEFINITION
WHAT? unruly and destructive behaviour: brawls (=fist fights), vandalism, intimidation, racist/obscene chanting / shouts / riots (clash with bats, bottles, rocks, knives or guns) / stabbing / pitch invasions
WHO? supporters of opposing teams
WHERE? spontaneously at the stadium or in the surrounding streets + at pre-arranged locations away from stadiums, in order to avoid arrests by the police
WHEN? before, during or after football matches
WHY? news coverage / testosterone: aggressive reaction to a pitch event / proof of masculinity (rite of passage) / alcohol / target: police
TESTIMONIES
WHEN? start as a teen or adult
WHY? brawls give them thrills ("butterflies in your stomach") => addictive / to vent frustration with personal life
WHO? English firms "The Naughty Forty" / "Combat 18" (neo-nazi)
HOW? mutual trust / protection / loyalty ( helping members from the firm to get jobs or wean them off drugs (heroin and ecstasy) => brotherhood + FH in blood
2004 MOVIES
EUROTRIP (comic)
FOOTBALL FACTORY
2 Americans in a British pub face some hooligans of the Manchester united team (same jerseys) => become friends because could sing an English song "My Baby Takes the Morning Train"
well-known hooligan thugs from Chelsea, Tottenham & Milwall (all London football clubs) / journalist claims FH has disappeared (because of drugs or boredom) until one H punches him in the face + movie scene: H gathering although numerous police officers in the streets
1365: King Edward III banned football partly because of its excessive violence
1880s: first appearance of FH in England
1960s: reputation worldwide for football hooliganism = "the English Disease"
1970s: 1st organised hooligan firms
ACTS OF VIOLENCE
1970s / 1980s: riots, fatally-injured victims (stabbed / collapsing wall killed Italian fans: HEYSEL STADIUM DISASTER: England expelled from Euro tournament 85-90), pitch invasion (target: football players), racist chants and insults at English Black players (John Barnes)
1990s: riots at FIFA & UEFA
2000s: because of bad fan behaviour => England team threatened to be expelled from Euro tournament (2000 + 2004: Eng vs Slovakia: D. Beckham asks fans not to ruin English team's chances to win a match)
2010s: pitch invasion (2015) + organised Russians: Some disguised in English club shirts and equipped with gumshields and truncheons/bats (Euro 2016 Marseilles: outdated French police?)
TACKLING FH
IN THE STREETS
IN STADIUMS
all stadiums = all-seater stadiums ASS (before 1985: standing terrace) + introduction of family enclosures (special area for families instead of general crowd) => NOWADAYS: only ASS for FIFA & UEFA competitions
INDIVIDUALS
Identification of hooligans (CCTV cameras in stadiums) + banning orders for well-known hooligans
coaching for youngsters (how to be a good fan + on racism by meeting football players): FH can start young
request to remove beaver boots to enter stadium
separate the 2 teams' fans with fences + sterile area (empty zones)
POLICE: In FRANCE: wear riot gear (CRS Compagnie Républicaine de Sécurité) + stay out of the crowd
vs. IN MOST OF EUROPE (including Britain): engage with the crowd, resolving individual issues and arresting and taking away safely any individual who break the law.