Football Hooligans

Football hooliganism in Croatia has seen riots over inter-ethnic resentments and the politics that were reignited by the breakup of the Yugoslav federation in the 1990s.[4] Two of the most well known hooligan firms are Torcida (Hajduk Split) and Bad Blue Boys (Dinamo Zagreb).[22] However, the groups are not just hooligan firms; they are more like the South American Torcida supporters groups and Ultras groups, with organised Tifos and so on. On 13 May 1990 (before the break up of Yugoslavia) Serbian club Red Star Belgrade was in Zagreb to play Dinamo Zagreb at the Maksimir Stadium. Red Star brought over 3,000 fans to the game with the late %u017Deljko Ra%u017Enatovi%u0107 (known as Arkan) a Serbian paramilitary leader being a prominent member. Before the match a number of small fights broke out. Police reinforcements soon arrived with armoured vehicles and water cannons. The fighting lasted for over an hour and hundreds of people were injured.[4]

Ethnic tension between Croats and Serbs has also led to fighting at a football match in Australia. On 13 March 2005, Sydney United (who have a large Croatian following, and were established by Croatian immigrants) and Bonnyrigg White Eagles (who have a large Serbian following and were established by Serbian immigrants) met in Sydney in the New South Wales Premier League. About 50 fans clashed, resulting in two police officers getting injured and five fans being arrested. Football NSW held an inquiry into the events. Both clubs denied that the fight was racially motivated or that there was any ethnic rivalry.[23]

Football hooliganism in France is rooted in social conflict and racism. In the 1990s, fans of Paris St. Germain (PSG) fought with supporters from Belgium, England, Germany, Italy and Scotland.[23] There is a long standing north/south rivalry between the PSG (Paris - North) and OM (Marseille - South) which has encouraged authorities to be extremely mobilized during games between the two teams. Violent fights and post-game riots including car burning, and store windows smashing have been a regular fixture of PSG-OM games. In 2000, the bitter rivalry turned particularly violent.[24] On 24 May 2001, fifty people were injured when fighting broke out at a match between PSG and Turkish club Galatasaray at the Parc des Princes stadium.[25][26] PSG were initially given a record $571,000 fine, but it was reduced on appeal to $114,000. Galatasaray was initially fined $114,000 by UEFA, but it too was eventually reduced to $28,500.[27] In May 2001, six PSG fans from the Supporters Club, were arrested and charged with assault, carrying weapons, throwing items on the pitch and racism. The six were alleged to have deliberately entered a part of the Parc des Princes stadium where French fans of Turkish origin were standing, in order to attack them. The six were banned from all football stadiums for the duration of their trial.[27][28][29]

On 24 November 2006 a PSG fan was shot and killed by police and another seriously injured during fighting between PSG fans and the police. The violence occurred after PSG lost 4-2 to Israeli club Hapoel Tel Aviv at the Parc des Prince in a UEFA Cup match. PSG fans chased a fan of Hapoel Tel Aviv, shouting racist and anti-semitic slogans. A plainclothes police officer who tried to protect the Hapoel fan was attacked, and in the chaos, one fan was shot dead and another seriously injured. In response, the French Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy held a meeting with the president of the French Football League, Frederic Thiriez to discuss racism and violence in football. The director-general of the French police, Michel Gaudin, insisted that measures against football hooliganism had reduced racist incidents to six that season from nineteen in the previous season. Gaudin also stated that 300 known hooligans could be banned from matches.[30] The fan who was shot, was linked with the Boulogne Boys, a group of fans who modelled themselves on British hooligans in the 1980s. The group's name coming from the Kop of Boulogne (KOB), one of the two main home fan stand at the Parc des Prince. The KOB themselves held a silent memorial march attended by 300 and accused the police office of murdering the fan. They cited bias in the French press who had only given a "one-sided" account of the incident.[30] French President Jacques Chirac condemned violence that led up to the shooting, stating that he was horrified by the reports of racism and anti-Semitism. And French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin called for new, tougher measures to deal with football hooligans. Prosecutors opened an inquiry into the incident, to determine whether the officer involved should face criminal charges.[31][32]

Before a home match against Sochaux on 4 January 2006, two Arab youths were punched and kicked by white fans outside the entrance to the KOB. During the match racist insults were aimed at black players and a PSG player of Indian origin, Vikash Dhorasoo was told to "go sell peanuts in the metro".[23] On 7 March 2006, three PSG supporters were convicted for unfurling a racist banner at a match in February 2005, that was being held as part of an anti-racism campaign. The fans were banned from the stadium for three years, and fined between US$90 and $1,200.[23]

In the recent years, following UK's example, France's legislation has changed, including more and more banning of violent fans from stadiums. The threat of dissolution of fan groups has also tempered the outward rivalry and violence of a number of fans. Known violent fans under ban sentences are to report to the nearest Police station on nights of game, to prove they are not anywhere in proximity to the stadium. However, as of 2009, hooliganism and its connection to extreme-right, neo-nazi and racist/antisemitic groups/advocates is still a problem in France.

Some football hooliganism in Germany has been linked to neo-Nazism and far right groups[33] In June 1998, after a FIFA World Cup match in France between Germany and Yugoslavia a French policeman was beaten to the point of brain damage by German fans. Following the incident, German police contacted many of the known 2,000+ German hooligans to warn them they would be arrested if they travelled to upcoming matches in France.[34] A German fan was arrested in 1998 and charged with attempted murder[35][36] and in 1999, four more Germans were convicted in the attack[37][38] In 2001, Markus Warnecke, the German fan who was accused of leading the attack, was found guilty and jailed for five years and banned from France for ten years, and from all sports facilities for five years.[39]

In March 2005, German football fans fought with police and rival fans at a friendly match between Germany and Slovenia in Celje, Slovenia, fighting police and rival fans, damaging cars and shops, shouting racist slogans. The German Football Association (DFB) apologised for the behaviour. As a result, 52 people were arrested; 40 Germans and 12 Slovenians.[40][41] Following a 2-0 defeat to Slovakia in Bratislava, Slovakia, German hooligans fought with the local police, and six people were injured and two were taken into custody. The DFB again apologised for fans who chanted racist slogans.[42]

In June 2006, Germany beat Poland in a World Cup Finals match in Dortmund, which led to violent clashes. The police detained over 300 people in Dortmund and German fans threw chairs, bottles and fireworks at the police. Of the 300 arrested, 120 were known hooligans.[43] In October 2006, a task force was established to deal with violence and racism in German football stadiums.[44] The worst incident took place at a Third division (North) match between the Hertha BSC Berlin B-team and Dynamo Dresden, in which 23 policemen were injured.[45][46] In February 2007 in Saxony, all German lower league matches, from the fifth division downward were cancelled after about 800 fans attacked 300 police officers (injuring 39 of them) after a match between Lokomotive Leipzig and Erzgebirge Aue II.

Football hooliganism in the Netherlands began after rioting between supporters of Feyenoord and English club Tottenham Hotspur at the 1974 UEFA Cup Final.[citation needed] Since then, several Dutch clubs have been associated with hooliganism, such as AFC Ajax, Feyenoord, FC Utrecht and ADO Den Haag. The most violent rivalry is between Ajax and Feyenoord. On 16 June 1990, English fans were arrested for brawling in Amsterdam before a friendly match.[57] The bloodiest football hooligan encounter has been the Battle of Beverwijk between Feyenoord and Ajax hooligans on 23 March 1997, in which several people were seriously injured and Carlo Picornie was killed.[58] On 26 April 1999, 80 football fans were arrested when Feyenoord supporters rioted after a cup match with NAC Breda.[59] The 2002-03 season was marked by continued fighting between fans of Ajax and FC Utrecht, and between fans of Ajax and Feyenoord.[60] In 2006, a riot broke out between Feyenoord fans and French police in Nancy.

Arranged football hooligan fights in Poland are known as ustawka. They became common in Poland in the late 1990s.[citation needed]. On 30 March 2003, it was reported that Polish police arrested 120 people because rival football supporters fought during a match between %u015Al%u0105sk Wroc%u0142aw and Arka Gdynia.[62] 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. During the 1998-99 UEFA Cup, Italian footballer Dino Baggio, from Parma F.C. was hit with a knife in the head by Wis%u0142a Kraków supporters.

Football hooliganism in Spain arises from 3 main sources. The first is racism, as some black players have been victims of ethnic slurs. Samuel Eto'o, a former FC Barcelona player from Cameroon, has denounced the problem. The second source is the strong rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona. After transferring from Barcelona to Real Madrid, Luís Figo's appearance in Barcelona's Nou Camp Stadium triggered a strong reaction. The crowd threw bottles, mobile phones and other things (including a pig's head). Although nobody was injured the match was followed by a large discussion on fan violence in the Spanish Primera División. Hooliganism is also rooted in deep political divisions arising from the General Franco fascist regime days (some Real Madrid ultras are linked to franquista groups) and the independentist terrorist movements in Catalonia (like FC Barcelona) and the Basque region.

In 1998, a supporter of Real Sociedad was killed by an Atlético Madrid fan who was linked to a neo-Nazi group, just before a match between these two teams. In 2003, a supporter of Deportivo La Coruña was killed in riots by Deportivo hooligans, when he tried to protect a supporter of the opposing team, SD Compostela. Since then, authorities have made attempts to bring hooliganism more under control. In 2007, there were acts of hooliganism before a match between Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid, with several cars being destroyed and policemen injured by flares and bottles which were thrown at them. Many black foreign players have been racially abused, such as at a recent friendly match between Spain and England, in which black England players such as Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ashley Cole endured monkey chants from Spain supporters. There also have been local disputes between rival teams, for example between Cádiz Club de Fútbol and Xerez CD. In 2008, after a hooligan incident versus Espanyol, FC Barcelona very publicly took a stand on violence, saying it hoped to stamp out violence for good.

Football hooliganism in England dates back to the 1880s, when what were termed as roughs caused trouble at football matches.[5] Local derby matches would usually have the worst trouble, but in an era when travelling fans were not common, roughs would sometimes attack the referees and the away team's players.[97] Between the two World Wars, football hooliganism diminished to a great extent, and it started to attract media attention in the early 1960s. A moral panic developed because of increased crime rates among juveniles, and because of the mods and rockers conflict. Football matches started to feature regular fights among fans, and the emergence of more organised hooliganism.[97] Fans started to form themselves into groups, mostly drawn from local working class areas. They tended to all stand together, usually at the goal-end terrace of their home football ground, which they began to identify as their territory. The development of these ends helped bring about national gang rivalries, focused primarily around football clubs. With the growth of fans travelling to watch their local club play away matches, these gangs became known as hooligan firms, and during matches they focused their attentions on intimidating opposing fans.[97] Some hooligans travelled to games on the Football Specials train services.

Starting in the late 1960s in the United Kingdom, the skinhead and suedehead styles were popular among football hooligans. Eventually, the police started cracking down on people wearing typical skinhead clothing styles, so some hooligans changed their image. In the early 1980s, many British hooligans started wearing expensive European designer clothing, to avoid attracting the attention of authorities. This led to the development of the casual subculture. Clothing lines popular with British casuals have included: Pringle, Fred Perry, Le Coq Sportif, Aquascutum, Burberry, Lacoste, Timberland, Lonsdale, Sergio Tacchini, Ben Sherman, Ralph Lauren, Abercrombie and Fitch and Stone Island.

During the 1970s, organised hooligan firms started to emerge with clubs such as Arsenal (Gooners, Herd) Birmingham City (Zulus), Derby County (Derby Lunatic Fringe), Chelsea (Headhunters), Everton FC (County Road Cutters)(Barnet B.U.G) Leeds United (Leeds Service Crew), Southampton FC (The Deceased Crew),QPR (C Mob,Ellerslie Enders), Burnley FC (The Suicide Squad), Liverpool FC (The Urchins), Manchester City (Guvnors, Young Guvnors, Mayne Line Service Crew) Manchester United (Red Army), Portsmouth (6.57 Crew), Sheffield United (Blades Business Crew) and West Ham United (Inter City Firm). Lower league clubs also had firms, such as Blackpool's Rammy Arms Crew and Millwall's (F-Troop), Sunderland AFC (the vauxies, seaburn casuals)and Stoke City (Naughty Forty) . Two main events in 1973 led to introduction of crowd segregation and fencing at football grounds in England.[98] Manchester United were relegated to the Second Division, and the Red Army caused mayhem at grounds up and down the country, and a Bolton Wanderers fan stabbed a young Blackpool fan to death behind the Kop at Bloomfield Road during a Second Division match.[99]

In March 1985, hooligans who had attached themselves to Millwall were involved in large-scale rioting at Luton when Millwall played Luton Town in the quarter final of the FA Cup. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's immediate response was to set up a "War Cabinet" to combat football hooliganism.[100] On 29 May 1985, 39 Juventus fans were crushed to death during the European Cup Final between Liverpool and Juventus at Heysel Stadium in Brussels; an event that became known as the Heysel Stadium disaster. Just before kick-off, Liverpool fans broke through a line of police officers and ran toward the Juventus supporters in a section of the ground containing both English and Italian fans. When a fence separating them from the Juventus fans was broken through, the English supporters attacked the Italian fans, the majority of whom were families rather than ultras who were situated in the other end of the ground. Many Italians tried to escape the fighting, and a wall collapsed on them.[101][102] As a result of the Heysel Stadium disaster, English clubs were banned from all European competitions until 1990, with Liverpool banned for an additional year.[103]

On 11 May 1985 a 14-year-old boy died at St Andrews stadium when fans were pushed onto a wall by Police which subsequently collapsed following crowd violence at a match between Birmingham City and Leeds United.[104][105] The fighting that day was described by Justice Popplewell, during the Popplewell Committee investigation into football in 1985 as more like "the Battle of Agincourt than a football match".[100][106][107] Because of the other events in 1986 and the growing rise in football hooliganism during the early 1980s, an interim report from the committee stated that "football may not be able to continue in its present form much longer" unless hooliganism was reduced, perhaps by excluding "away" fans.

Margaret Thatcher, UK Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990, made a high-profile public call for the country's football hooligans to be given "stiff" prison sentences to act as a deterrent to others in a bid to clamp down on hooliganism. Her minister for sport, Colin Moynihan, attempted to bring in an ID card scheme for football supporters.

The government acted after the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, when 96 fans died, bringing in the Football Spectators Act 1989 in the wake of the Taylor Report.[101][102] However, the Hillsborough Justice Campaign states: "the British Judicial system has consistently found that violence or hooliganism played no part whatsoever in the disaster". On 15 February 1995, England played Ireland. English fans started to throw items down into the stand below and rip up seats; after battles broke out between police and English fans, 50 people were injured. Rumours of IRA retribution at Dublin Airport never materialised and no fixture has been arranged between the two neighbouring countries since.

English and German fans have a rivalry dating back to the late 1980s. Other occasional clashes have occurred with a few other teams since the mid 1980s.[114] France 98 was marred by violence as English fans clashed with the North African locals of Marseille, which led to up to 100 fans being arrested.

In the 2000s, English football hooligans often wear either clothing styles that are stereotypically associated with the "[casual]" subculture, such as items made by Shark and Burberry. Prada and Burberry withdrew certain garments over fears that their brands were becoming linked with hooliganism.[116] English hooligans have begun using Internet forums, mobile phones and text messages to set up fight meetings or provoke rival gangs into brawls. Sometimes fight participants post live commentaries on the Internet.[118]

Football violence in British stadiums declined after the introduction of the Football Spectators Act, and in the 2000s much of the trouble occurred away from stadiums or away at major international tournaments.[97] At Euro 2000, the England team was threatened with expulsion from the tournament, due to the poor behaviour of the fans.[119] Following good behaviour in the Korea-Japan 2002 and Portugal 2004, the English reputation has improved.[120] 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) 400 others taken into preventative custody. During that day, Police believe that on average each rioter consumed or threw 17 litres of beer.

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.[123][124] Swedish referee Anders Frisk quit his position after receiving death threats from Chelsea F.C. fans.[125] Reading players Ibrahima Sonko and Stephen Hunt also received death threats from Chelsea fans in 2006.[126] A steward died after serious clashes between firms from Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers after a Carling Cup game in September 2004.[127] 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.[97]
[edit] Northern Ireland

Northern Irish football has suffered from hooliganism, though it has tapered somewhat in recent years due to falling attendances. While riots have occurred in the past such as that between Belfast Celtic and Linfield in 1948 [128], Irish league football as a whole has remained relatively trouble-free, save for minor skirmishes between local rival clubs and derby matches. However, there has historically been a heated rivalry between Linfield and Glentoran that has escalated somewhat in recent years, such as the 2005 riot, and the 2008 Boxing Day riot. Additionally, in the 1970s, the political Troubles in Northern Ireland spilled onto the terraces of the football stadiums, and is seen as a major factor in Derry City leaving the Irish Football League to join the League of Ireland.

Despite this trouble at league level, there has historically been very little trouble involving Northern Ireland fans at international level, both home and away.

In February 2001, AS Roma fans fought with police and with Liverpool fans, and five English supporters were stabbed.[51] In December 2001, police tear gassed brawlers at a Champions League match between AS Roma and Liverpool, in which four Liverpool fans were stabbed.[52] In March 2006 three fans of English club Middlesbrough were stabbed before the club's UEFA Cup clash against AS Roma in Rome in an attack blamed on Roman ultras.[53]

After a weekend of violence in January 2007, the president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) threatened to halt all league football. An official of amateur club Sammartinese died when he was caught up in a fight between players and fans in Luzzi and in Florence, a Livorno fan needed 20 stitches in his head after being attacked by Fiorentina fans. About 100 Atalanta fans tried to attack coaches carrying Catania fans and fought with police and at a Serie D game, a linesman was hit by a metal drum thrown from the stands.[54] In February 2007 the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) suspended all football matches after a policeman was killed at the Serie A match between Catania and Palermo. The policeman, Officer Filippo Raciti, died when he was struck in the face by a small explosive as the police were trying to deal with the fighting outside the ground.[55] On 4 April 2007 AS Roma and Manchester United fans fought during UEFA Champions League match. A Manchester United fan was stabbed and eleven fans taken to hospital. Two Roma fans also received hospital treatment. The head of Rome police, Achille Serra, claimed that the police action was justified and that there would be no inquiry.