WEDNESDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2014

NEWSTHUMP.COM

Hooliganism is the best thing to happen to

football since some bloke fixed studs to the
bottom of his boots.
So why was the British Government so keen to see it go?
Matthew OBrien

A Galatasaray fan spreads his arms in front of a flare at a recent match in London
against Arsenal. Image courtesy of mirror.co.uk.

In a video posted to YouTube by user Dimi Sidorov (click here to

watch), 38 Russian fans of Football Club Dynamo Moscow walk slowly and
rhythmically down a snowy, desolate highway towards 38 fans of rival
football club Spartak Moscow. One side is dressed in black, the other in
white. As the groups near each other, members begin charging towards the rival
gang, yelling, hurling fists, and swinging kicks. In the ensuing fight the Dynamo
fans unleash brutal assaults on the Spartak fans, and after a few minutes, all of
the Spartak fans are lying on the ground covering their heads. Once the Dynamo
fans realize that they have won, they throw their arms up and begin to celebrate.
After congratulating each other, they begin to circulate their field of victory,
extending a hand to their bitter rivals still bloodied and lying on the ground.

Exchanging smiles, thank yous, and pats on the back with their defeated
colleagues, both groups of fans eventually turn away from each other and begin
walking back down the highway. According to The Moscow Times, one fan
proclaimed, We fight before every game between Spartak and Dynamo, we
support our teams. This was not a very serious fight, next time we will fight until
we are even more bloody.
This is the epitome of fandom. These 76 fans are part of a distinguished
category of fan that is responsible for keeping sensational team spirit,
controversial regional politics, and ugly history brewing in the same pot. By
brawling to the point of being bloodied before every derby, burning flags and
banners, filling stadiums with flare smoke so that the game needs to be delayed,
and acting mad as a bag of ferrets in the city streets (including smashing store
windows and looting), these fans allow this heated pot of social dynamics to boil
over, reducing the pressure and tension in the pot while simultaneously making
room for more in the future and thereby allowing this pot to keep on brewing,
hopefully forever, for the betterment of the community as a whole.
Here in the United Kingdom this ultimate category of fan is known as
hooligans, the members of which are participants in the overarching term
hooliganism. Both of these terms have negative connotations in the modern
(read Western) world, and particularly in the world of European football.
However before we at Newsthump.com begin to explain why football hooliganism
is in fact the best thing to happen to football in centuries, let us take you through
a brief historical refresher on hooliganism, as well as our governments
desperate attempts to nip it in the bud.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF HOOLIGANISM IN BRITISH FOOTBALL
While many of you erudite Brits are familiar with the late 20th century/early
21st century forms of hooliganism, you may be hazier on the origins of modern
hooliganism, which took place in the late 18th century. At this time, fans of
Preston North End were big instigators. After a five to zero victory over Aston
Villa in 1885, fans of the two clubs sprinkled their teams with stones, tapped each
other with sticks, and shoved each other around as they let out their pent up
energy and bonded with their fellow fans. A year later they had another tussle,
this time with Chelsea fans in a railway station. These actions, however, were
viewed by some as too much. In 1905, fans, including a drunk and disorderly
70 year old woman, were wrongly brought to trail for their actions and received
quite the ear-bashing. Yet for the benefit of football fans worldwide, this was
simply the dawn of hooliganism.
It was not until the 1950s and 60s that the predominant method of showing
team allegiance became hooliganism. This is also probably the era that many
think of when hooliganism is mentioned. Also known as the English Disease,
the creation of firms in the 1970s seemed to be contagious. Soon, many football
clubs in the top flight had their own firms, which tended to be organized and

extremely passionate. Some of our older readers may even have been part of
one of these firms (if so, please share your thoughts on hooliganism in the
comments section below!).
Some found, however, that hooligan firms and their various methods of
pledging allegiance were discouraging considerably less-passionate fans from
attending matches. You probably have a puzzled look on your face: Why should
it matter if the most passionate fans are taking opportunities away from others?
Do they not deserve the opportunities themselves?
Well, unfortunately, not everyone saw things
so logically. Hooliganism was soon labeled as
barbaric and stomped out by the Government of the
United Kingdom. With the forced separation of fans
by the installation of fences in the stands, the wiring
of closed-circuit television cameras in stadiums, the
increased police presence at football matches, and
the banning of known hooligans from ever entering
the stadium again, hooligans had to minimize their
actions in the name of their team or fear being the
target of a totalitarian, 1984-esq crackdown system.
While we doubt that George Orwell was imagining
football hooligans as the big victims snookered in his
A poster depicting Big
dystopian society, this is essentially what happened
Brother from George
th
during the end of the 20 century in Great Britain.
Orwells Nineteen
This omnipresent government led to a domesticated
Eighty-Four, and
and devolved generation of fans. By eliminating the
something we would not
beautiful, pure, and free (although admittedly often
have been surprised to
violent (but is that not part of the beauty?))
see popping up in
football grounds around
expression of hooligans in the name of their team,
the UK in the 1990s.
the Government of the UK effectively destroyed the
Image courtesy of
greatest feature of the evolution of football fandom,
commons.wikimedia.org
akin to hospitals cutting off the opposable thumbs of
.
all newborns.
HOOLIGANISM AS A POLITICAL TOOL
This is not to say that hooliganism has been completely destroyed. It
persists, especially in regions experiencing political, religious, and ethnic turmoil
and it can help people cope with these difficult social issues by providing an
outlet to vent, as well as opportunities to ameliorate the situation.
As Aleksandar Manasiev explains it, hooligans in the Balkans are often
wrapped up heavily with politics and nationalism. The region is fraught with ethnic
and religious conflicts, and hooligans are often at the front lines when these
conflicts boil over to the streets. They view themselves as the foot soldiers of the
nationalist causes that dominate politics in the region. Occasionally, political

parties will sponsor firms in exchange

for their political activism. This will
lead to hooligans getting jobs in the
public sector in order to continue
serving their community, only now in
an official capacity (and not corrupt at
all!). In this way, hooliganism allows
enthusiastic and innovative people to
enter into public office, enacting real
change while continuing to spread
awareness of inequality and
persecution through violence on the
streets and in the stands.

Partizan Belgrade fans lift a portrait of

controversial political figure Radovan
Karadzic during a match in 2008.
Image courtesy of thegaurdian.com.

THE UNMATCHED PASSION OF HOOLIGANS

This last point about the political activism of hooligans is only one aspect
of the beauty of hooliganism. The incredible, blind devotion to their teams is also
to be admired in hooligans.
As some of you old codgers may remember, on May 28th, 1975, Leeds
United lost the European Championship to Bayern Munich. Leedss path to the
cup final was in fact a journey spanning years, and it culminated in a devastating
loss. It is important to note that the loss was not only devastating to the team, but
also to its fans. Unleashing the anticipation and energy they had been holding in
for many years, frustrated and ardent fans stormed the streets of Paris after the
game. While some writers had the audacity to label this event with phrases such
as humiliating, one of the worst nights in [football], and as having killed the
spirit of [football], it is clear that these claims are rubbish. These fans are the
epitome of the spirit of football. This night should be celebrated in the annals of
football history. Leeds should be proud of its fans, of its hooligans. Most of all,
these rioting hooligans should be given sympathy and condolences for having
endured what proved to be a fruitless cup campaign. Nothing hurts more than
such a loss, not even a prisebar to the ribs.
OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE
While hooliganism has been largely suppressed in Western Europe
(compared to the level of grandeur upon which it once operated), it is still widely
prevalent in the Balkans (as we have seen in the political sphere) and the Middle
East, as well as large swaths of Eastern Europe and Russia, thanks to much
more liberal and open-minded governments. As an interesting contrasting
example, let us look at a recent incident of Turkish hooligans visiting a much
more evolved (eh-hem) Great Britain.

This example should be fresh on your minds: on 1 October 2014,

Galatasaray visited Arsenal in North London for their Champions League
matchup. During the match Galatasaray fans ripped stadium seats out of their
moorings, lit flares, and hurled the aforementioned flares onto the pitch. This
caused a temporary delay of game, with heavy smoke from the Galatasaray fans
section encapsulating the rest of the stadium in a romantic haze (It was a sight to
behold. Personally, I believe that flares are perfect tools for hooligans, as they
attract attention, make a statement, and create a fascinating ambiance.). The
most interesting aspect of the event, however, was that Arsenal fans had no
response. They did not bring any flares. While this is not necessarily surprising to
British matchgoers of late, it should be. Historically, hooliganism has had a lot to
do with who was the better
fan. Fan superiority was (and
still is, in some places)
determined by punch ups (like
the Russian video) and riots
(like Leeds United fans
showing their passion in the
streets of Paris), but also by
in-match antics. Fans in more
liberal parts of Europe will light
flares, display offensive tifos,
and sing racist songs all in
support of their teams.
North Londons Emirates Stadium is blanketed
Importantly, they will strive to
with flare smoke during a match between Arsenal
and Galatasaray in October. Image courtesy of
do these things better than
their opponents fans.
So why were Arsenal fans caught flat-footed? How do these shameful fans
not have a retort to their visitors, who stormed into the Emirates and made their
presence known with absolutely no backlash? It all has to do with these recent
crackdown and globalization of football. Due to the United Kingdoms desire to be
seen as a civilized society, it decided to do away with some of the more colorful
aspects of its culture (including hooliganism). So what the UK has ended up with
is toffs bringing their family of four along to the Sunday matches, delicately
clapping and exclaiming blimey! and oh bugger! as the match progresses.
These more manageable crowds have cleared out the true fans, the ones willing
to put their fists into the jaws of those who see differently. What weve witnessed
over the past few decades is in fact the death of football fandom, and the rise of
boring, apathetic crowds. Nothing saddens us more than watching a team about
to lose a cup final and seeing its fans quietly getting up to leave early and beat
the post-game traffic. If there is one thing we know for sure, it is that hooligans
would be singing, burning, exchanging blows, and rioting until the final whistle
(and probably beyond it). Alas, here in the UK, we at Newsthump.com find
ourselves wondering: What ever happened to our real fans?

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