Football hooliganism is seen by most to mean violence and/or disorder involving football fans.
However there are two very specific ''''types'''' of disorder that have been
labelled ''''hooliganism'''': (a) Spontaneous and usually low level disorder
caused by fans at or around football matches (the type that typically
occurs at England away matches), and (b) Deliberate and intentional
violence involving organised gangs (or ''''firms'''') who attach themselves
to football clubs and fight firms from other clubs, sometimes a long
way in time and space from a match.Traditionally, football hooliganism has been seen as first occurring in
the late 1960''''s, and peaking in the late 1970''''s and mid 1980''''s before
calming down following the Heysel and Hillsborough disasters. However, incidents of crowd disorder at football matches have been recorded as early as the 19th Century. It is often claimed that hooliganism at football
matches became much more prevalent in the 1970''''s and 1980''''s, with more
reported wide-scale violence at matches.The issue of the media''''s coverage of football
hooliganism is very important as it is the media that helped construct
the public’s understanding and view of the phenomenon. The tabloid press in the 1970s and 80s in particular helped to amplify the problem and create a widespread panic
over football hooliganism that was completely disproportionate to the
actual extent of the problem. Inaccurate press constructions of why disorder
involving England fans occured - and suggestions of how to control it -
after disorder in Sweden (1989), Marseille (1998) and Charleroi (2000)
in particular led to pressure for controversial Football Banning Orders. All-seater stadiums, ''''Football Intelligence'''' and
Closed Circuit Television in particular have meant that incidents of
violence inside football grounds (particularly in the Premiership) are
rare.However, analysis of incidents from 1990-2007 in Stott
and Pearson''''s ''''Football Hooliganism: Policing the War on the English
Disease'''' (2007 Pennant Books) criticised this view and suggested that
external factors such as indiscriminate policing and the presence of
aggressive local youths were usually the cause of rioting involving
english fans abroad.
In terms of organised violence between ''''hooligan
gangs'''', a feeling of community, tribalism and sheer enjoyment of being
involved in football disorder is obviously in evidence. Whilst aggressive and confrontational policing tactics
in Charleroi in 2000 escalated minor incidents into widescale disorder,
more progressive models of policing saw only one arrest at England
matches in Euro2004 in Portugal, despite an estimated 250,000 English
''''football tourists'''' being present. When asking why hooliganism occurs abroad involving
English fans, it is just as important to ask why disorder does not
usually occur, despite large numbers of drunken (sometimes xenophobic)
young English men and the presence of hooligan fans!Whenever large groups of predominantly males get
together, often under the influence of alcohol, there is the potential
for disorder, regardless of whether there is a football match taking
place or not. All manner of legal means and
policing tactics have been tried to control hooliganism, including
deterrent sentencing, legislation (such as the Football (Offences) Act
1991) and the creation of the Football Intelligence Unit.
During the perceived height of football hooliganism in the 1970s and
80s, successive governments implemented a series of aggressive policies
that contained little evidence of an understanding of hooliganism. Furthermore, there are serious concerns about whether
Banning Orders have any serious effect in reducing disorder involving
English fans abroad in the light of evidence suggesting it is not
"known hooligans" who actually become involved (see Stott and Pearson
2007). Furthermore, disorder abroad can be reduced by
appropri