Sports Hooligans

[moses]

After reading about a Hotspurs fan being stabbed before last week's Europa cup game in Rome against Lazio, it made me wonder if any fellow Big Footy member has seen any acts hooliganism whilt being here or abroad.

Never seen anything too bad here, a few pissed people on the hill and Adelaide - nothing like european soccer style madness.

Share your stories here

 

[NSWCROW]

2 centrals fans brawling each other in the shopping centre carpark behind footy park in the mid 90's after ANOTHER finals loss to Port.

EDIT - Might have been 2000

 

[Dont be a lemon]

Seen flares lit at Melbourne Victory games when they score. I find it amusing. Those sitting behind the smoke probably don't... They probably shouldn't do it (light flares).

Do thousands of drunks getting kicked out of the MCG on December 26 count?

 

[moses]

Seen flares lit at Melbourne Victory games when they score. I find it amusing. Those sitting behind the smoke probably don't... They probably shouldn't do it (light flares).

Do thousands of drunks getting kicked out of the MCG on December 26 count?

yes

 

[childeric]

Attended Spurs v Arsenal January 1987 at White Hart Lane (100th North London Derby)

The pitch was surrounded by barbed wire fence to prevent pitch invasion

At the end of the match a massive fight started when Arsenal fans taunted Spurs

I was getting crushed against the barbed-wire fence as the crowd moved away from the fight area and thought I was about to die

BTW -Spurs 1, Arsenal 2

 

[PP34]

An Aussie and Kiwi started going at each other at a ODI a few years ago after the Aussies won.

I also watched a drunken idiot attempt to beat up a security guard trying to take him out of the ground only for him to end up on the ground, getting destroyed.

 

[MaddAdam]

Too many to list after SPL games. Used to live just near Easter Road in Edinburgh.

Every incident I witnessed involved Rangers fans, albeit not always as the aggressors.

 

[GOAUS!]

Last year in the Boxing Day test against India we sat near a group of about 6 guys, 2 of them started hurling racist jibes at the Indian fans in a few rows in front, security came round twice giving them a warning each time, a few of the mates within the group told them to knock it off. Anyway come about 3pm they kept going and were forcibly removed by a group of 4-5 policemen.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Australian sports don't have the culture of ultra groups and mass hooliganism. The people who try to treat the five year old, plastic, friendly rivalry of Victory v Heart are genuinely pathetic, like little kids who have access to alcohol, flares, and knives.

 

[PP34]

My sister and grandmother were stuck with feral, drunk Collingwood supporters after one of their grand final losses against Brisbane. Apparently their behaviour was appalling. Besides from that, I've never seen any at the footy apart from the time a Collingwood fan in their members area whacked my old man's arm after Fev kicked his sixth goal or something like that and Carlton was thrashing Collingwood. The old man saw red but calmed down (surprisingly). We were only sitting there because AFL member tickets were sold out and tickets from my mum's relative at Collingwood were the only way to go. Sitting behind their goals is one of the weirdest experiences you'll have at the footy. It's also funny when your old man and yourself are Carlton fans, while your mother and sister are Collingwood fans.

That story is nothing though compared to the shit that happens in European football.

 

[moses]

My sister and grandmother were stuck with feral, drunk Collingwood supporters after one of their grand final losses against Brisbane. Apparently their behaviour was appalling. Besides from that, I've never seen any at the footy apart from the time a Collingwood fan in their members area whacked my old man's arm after Fev kicked his sixth goal or something like that and Carlton was thrashing Collingwood. The old man saw red but calmed down (surprisingly). We were only sitting there because AFL member tickets were sold out and tickets from my mum's relative at Collingwood were the only way to go. Sitting behind their goals is one of the weirdest experiences you'll have at the footy. It's also funny when your old man and yourself are Carlton fans, while your mother and sister are Collingwood fans.

That story is nothing though compared to the shit that happens in European football.

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[NarklesHelmet]

My sister and grandmother were stuck with feral, drunk Collingwood supporters after one of their grand final losses against Brisbane. Apparently their behaviour was appalling. Besides from that, I've never seen any at the footy apart from the time a Collingwood fan in their members area whacked my old man's arm after Fev kicked his sixth goal or something like that and Carlton was thrashing Collingwood. The old man saw red but calmed down (surprisingly). We were only sitting there because AFL member tickets were sold out and tickets from my mum's relative at Collingwood were the only way to go. Sitting behind their goals is one of the weirdest experiences you'll have at the footy. It's also funny when your old man and yourself are Carlton fans, while your mother and sister are Collingwood fans.

That story is nothing though compared to the shit that happens in European football.

It is actually overstated now to a large degree. I follow a team here where I live (in Stockholm) and this city has what is perceived throughout Europe to have a large hooligan problem (doesn't go with the neutral Swedish sterotype but there you go). But they only fight other hooligans and are very organised about it, often meeting up outside of the city in a forest with hooligans from the other team. I had it explained to me all by one of the hooligans that I wound up speaking to at a pub one night after a game (he was curious as to why an Aussie supported his team and was extremely talkative and opened up about the whole scene). So in a way, these "hooligans" only wind up hurting each other, like most gangs. I go to about 4 English games a year too and it is not like it is made out to be there at all, it feels very safe (although it was once bad of course). The main difference one has to get used to is how you are separated from other fans. When you consider that Europe has a population of over 700 million compared to Australia and soccer is king here, as well as that you hear about acts of hooliganism like the one in Rome last week in the media, you realise that it isn't really that big a deal anymore. There are still incidents but when you consider how massive Europe is, how many cultures intermingle, and the pretty atrocious history of war and genocide in the continent, it is surprising there aren't even more actually.

The worst violence I have seen at a sporting event was at a Collingwood vs. Essendon night game in 1992 when 2 Collingwood fans turned on each other and one beat the other guy's head on concrete to within an inch of his life. There was blood everywhere and it was quite frightening to witness. It was a capacity crowd, the match had just finished and people were walking out blocking the access for security guards to be able to get there. I saw plenty of footy and cricket fights over the years. I may have been unlucky but I have never bought the idea that in Australia our crowds are peaceful and immune to crowd violence as compared to Europe.

 

[Ed_Gein]

I'm from a protestant town, that's pretty staunch about Rangers. There is a Subway there that they had to change the background of the sign from green to black, because there were occasions when the shop was vandalized after Rangers lost to Celtic, which included rocks being thrown through the window. This is to go with the green lights on the traffic lights being smashed out as well.

 

[HappyChappy35]

Do thousands of drunks getting kicked out of the MCG on December 26 count?

Don't forget that lots of people who go to the cricket are chucked out for petty and trivial things (chanting too loudly, Mexican waves, beer snakes, beachballs, etc.) and that you aren't allowed to have any harmless fun there.

I've never understood the culture of violence and setting off flares at soccer matches. Is there really that much of a divide between supporters of different teams (cultures too in Europe)?

 

[NarklesHelmet]

I've never understood the culture of violence and setting off flares at soccer matches. Is there really that much of a divide between supporters of different teams (cultures too in Europe)?

Europe and South America (the places where most hooliganism takes place) are really quite different to Australia. In Europe you have a more entrenched privileged class that often don't care about the working class and conversely a more politically aware and engaged working class. People subsequently choose their sporting teams over generations based on the ideals of the club they support that fits in with their respective backgrounds. This endures through war and peaceful times.The hatred is therefore more extreme and "real" in that it often relates closely to the lives of the people following a team. Young blokes can sometimes take things too far as they do in most societies (in Australian society it is more likely to involve non-team related fighting... Australia is still violent just not along sporting lines). I don't think it is that hard to understand though, it is just that Australians can't relate to young male violence occurring hand-in-hand at organised sport along team lines.

 

[Mr Gor]

I had it explained to me all by one of the hooligans that I wound up speaking to at a pub one night after a game (he was curious as to why an Aussie supported his team and was extremely talkative and opened up about the whole scene).

this you brah?

 

[JD-Roo]

Mid 90's the Pies did us on just about the last kick of the game at the 'G.

Crap day.....

Until I watched two Collingwood supporters belt the tripe out of each other in the car park outside.

So the day wasn't a total waste....

 

[blueboy25]

Living in the UK between 2001 - 2004 I went to a lot of Spurs games at WHL as well as a number of away games and did not see a lot of trouble.

My first north London derby was a interesting experience, there was a different buzz in the air compared to other games and there were a lot more police around. I remember seeing a small group of Arsenal supporters throwing bottles at the police who were on horse back and thinking that things may get out of control if the cops don't get control of the situation which thankfully they did.

Inside the ground you could just feel the hatred that spurs fans had for arsenal and vice versa which was topped off by a 6yo kid who was sitting a few seats down from us started calling Patrick Vieira a silly.

 

[Gough]

I tend to think that the nature of soccer as a game, probably adds to some of the problems. When games are generally decided by one or two goals, the level of tension is much higher, added to this, the scarcity of goals in the first place, and you can sometimes have a pretty hostile mix.
I think the 70's and 80's were probably the worst era for football hooliganism, I was amazed at how many "ex-hooligans" published books that basically glorified their actions.

 

[coke_zero]

Only ever seen one fight at the footy or cricket. Even through to local games it is pretty chilled atmosphere. Dont need to worry about much which is good.

 

[kickazz]

I tend to think that the nature of soccer as a game, probably adds to some of the problems. When games are generally decided by one or two goals, the level of tension is much higher, added to this, the scarcity of goals in the first place, and you can sometimes have a pretty hostile mix.
I think the 70's and 80's were probably the worst era for football hooliganism, I was amazed at how many "ex-hooligans" published books that basically glorified their actions.

Yeah, that could be part of it.

I still think a big factor in it (and conversely why AFL crowds are much better now) is that at a lot of those soccer games the crowd is just about all male. I really think that makes a difference.

 

[Plugger35]

I heard a story about some Kiwis who were watching the All Blacks play in a pub in West London all dressed in black and white. Apparently Chelsea were playing Newcastle that day and some Chelsea hooligans thought they were Newcastle fans and beat them up.

Also we were on an Anzac Day tour in Turkey just after a couple of Leeds supporters were stabbed and killed there in brawls with Galatasaray supporters before a UEFA Cup match. Our tour guide told us not to put up any Australian or NZ flags in the bus windows as we might have been mistaken for Poms with the Union Jacks on them and been attacked by Turkish soccer hooligans.

I'm from a protestant town, that's pretty staunch about Rangers. There is a Subway there that they had to change the background of the sign from green to black, because there were occasions when the shop was vandalized after Rangers lost to Celtic, which included rocks being thrown through the window. This is to go with the green lights on the traffic lights being smashed out as well.

We drove through a staunchly protestant town in Northern Ireland in a green paddywagon bus and the local schoolkids all threw rocks at our bus. The tour guide said it happens quite often when they drive through there as they see the green bus as a symbol of Ireland and catholicism.

 

[CLUBMEDhurst]

Millwall fans, the greatest scum on earth. Millwall v Man City 1998 at the New Den was close to the scariest night I've ever experienced.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

I’ve been to a few dozen games in England over the past few years at all different stadiums (incl some derby games) and never seen anything more than chanting, singing and insults. A few flares but nothing harmful. It’s cleaned up a hell of a lot. The police and security presence is so massive and well planned that’s it’s effectively impossible for anything to happen. They yell and scream and make faces at each other but that’s about it.

The other factor is there’s so much CCTV etc these days that any serious offenders are easily identified, and the clubs revoke their season tickets. They pretty much know exactly who every person is who’s sitting in the stadium. This has weeded out the fwits and keeps people on their (relative) best behaviour. Add on top of that other programs, like many pubs around stadiums require a club season ticket to enter pre-match, and you now have a pretty safe environment. I think the passion is still there but now rarely manifests itself.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Very interesting. Could you divulge, CLUBMEDhurst? I only say this as someone who has a big interest in English soccer culture, and who one day wants to live in London.

It is actually overstated now to a large degree. I follow a team here where I live (in Stockholm) and this city has what is perceived throughout Europe to have a large hooligan problem (doesn't go with the neutral Swedish sterotype but there you go).

Go AIK!