Soccer hooligans

[cleoeo]

What's up with soccer (ok, "European Football") fans? Are there any laws against throwing beer and bags of urine at the opposing teams' spectators? Here in the States we frown on such behavior.

[ogb]

Never experienced anything like that. The problem is that many spectators travel with their teams to the away matches and drink alcohol during the trip to be in a better mood. If the match then turns out to be not successful, there soon start some aggressions. Personally I saw Frankfurt fans in our stadium throwing boxes with beer bottles on the ground and destroying a sausage stand.
Most problems currently are in Italy I guess, where ultra rights try to spread their hatred on foreigners in the stadiums and behave like directly coming out of a cave. England has the best system to avoid violence as you have to get a special ticket from the Football Association if you want to buy tickets for the matches. If you once are caught on misbehaving, they take the special ticket away so that this person can't buy tickets for other matches.

[RayH]

American Football hooligans aren't as numerous as the European soccer hooligans. But they are around.

Certain teams, such as Philadelphia, New England, New York, and Oakland are noted for fans being prone to violence towards fans of opposing teams. In Oakland, one "fan" murdered an opposing fan by throwing a brick on his head!

But American football generally doesn't break out in riot!

[Ada_Doom]

The reason England has such a good system, is that we are some of the worst hooligans cf: Liverpool fans at the Heysel Stadium in the 80's, Leeds fans at Galatasseri in Istanbul last year, numerous World Cup/European Cup matches. It is a similar thing to the people who go on cheap Club 18-30 holidays on the Med, and spend the whole week getting p*ssed as farts in every bar in the place, sleeping with everyone they can find and insulting the locals at every turn. When they go abroad for the footie, it's the same "few days in the sun without the girlfriend normal rules don't apply" thing, but there's national/team pride involved, and instead of just insulting the locals, they have to prove they are bigger, better and harder.....That's my understanding of it anyway. Once more, the few spoil it for the majority.

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Heaven is where the police are English, the cars are German, the chefs are French, the lovers are Italian and everything is organised by the Swiss. Hell is where the chefs are English, the police are German, the cars are Spanish, the lovers are Swiss and everything is organised by the Italians.
The man is a God (http://www.jpwsfc.org)

[ogb]

Just to put it in the correct way: it were the Galatasaray supporters who killed two Leeds fans in Istanbul last year. In England you don't even need a fence in the stadiums as almost everywhere else in the world. But not to give a wrong impression: 99% of the football/soccer matches take place without any negative incident.

[Ada_Doom]

It was Leeds fans who were killed, but they were killed during rioting that included other Leeds fans, and Galatasray couldn't play the return match in Leeds for fear of repercussions.
Just making sure that no-one makes the English sound better than they are http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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Heaven is where the police are English, the cars are German, the chefs are French, the lovers are Italian and everything is organised by the Swiss. Hell is where the chefs are English, the police are German, the cars are Spanish, the lovers are Swiss and everything is organised by the Italians.
The man is a God (http://www.jpwsfc.org)

[cleoeo]

My original post was inspired by a friend of mine who recently went to a WC soccer match in Mexico City; US vs. Mexico. US lost 1-0 and she got bombarded with beer and pee bags. Everyone assured her it was a tradition imported from Europe.
Keep an eye on the US socccer team in a couple years. Kids here are have really taken to soccer now, more than little league baseball. We'll have some top notch teams in a few years just wait & see.

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Bomb Mars Now!

[ogb]

I admit that Middle and South America is a little different with the behaviour on the ranks. Although women here can't believe that, they are even much more into the game than Europeans http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/smile.gif.
The US team surely can get better, they have lots of potential. Their problem is that the own league is not good enough and in Europe they are counting as Non-EU foreigners and often have to compete with South American stars for a place in the team.

[Ada_Doom]

The only US player I know about is Casey Keller who used to be Leicester City's goalie, and a very good goalie he was too, till he deserted http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/smile.gif
Still, nice to know that you Yanks are starting to play real sports for a change http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/wink.gif http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/biggrin.gif next stop cricket.... http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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Heaven is where the police are English, the cars are German, the chefs are French, the lovers are Italian and everything is organised by the Swiss. Hell is where the chefs are English, the police are German, the cars are Spanish, the lovers are Swiss and everything is organised by the Italians.
The man is a God (http://www.jpwsfc.org)

[Serendipity]

Cah! Soccer hooliganism is disgusting and should have nothing to do with the sport. In fact, often it has nothing to do with the sport - there are xenophobic and extreme rightwing organisations such as Combat 18 (Explanation: Combat - speaks for itself, 18 - 1=A, 1st letter of the alphabet, 8=H, 8th letter, AH = Adolf Hitler... serious frootloops) who ride on the back of national pride. Hooliganism is very well organised, and fights are set up whatever the result on the field. You're right about Italian rightwingers, too, Ogb. Lazio fans held up a huge banner mourning Arkan, the Bosnian Serb warlord, after his assassination.

[Sephirstein]

Fascists should be mass executed along with Maoists and Stalinists.

[Serendipity]

Um. That's a little totalitarian of you, Seph. By executing them, you just put yourself on their level.

Ada Doom

OK, so I was a long time getting here BUT :-

Leeds fans were NOT - in the Western world's perception of the word at least - rioting. Admittedly, some clearly demonstrated a misconception of the depth of feeling/passion in a foreign (Moslem) country, but this should excuse murder ? I think not. Witness subsequent World events. I fear we all guilty of that same underestimation. Additionally, Galatasary WERE able to play the return leg in Leeds. And safely. Despite YOUR comments, I would place far more trust in the British police than the Turkish Police. Ask Man U or Chelsea fans. They'll tell you the same......

OGB, where have you seen that it's necessary to have a special ticket from the Football Association in England to buy tickets for the games ? I was in Great Britain last year, and I went to several games without having a special ticket or having my identity checked.

Hooliganism has considerably decreased and if there are still some acts of violence at some games, football can't be systematically associated with hooliganism. The murder of the two Leeds supporters is the most extreme and exceptionnal example of hooliganism. But such acts come from a very small, well known by the police (but very agitated) minority. Every time I went to football games in England (it was at Elland Road stadium, Leeds), I found the atmosphere very friendly, a kind of family spectacle. There are indeed no fences but a lot of "guards" (i don't know their name in English, they help and control in the stadiums). I also went to a game last october in France, at Paris. The atmosphere was very hostile, i didn't enjoy it at all. You could really feel the hostility not between the two teams, but of the supporters toward the opposite team.

[ogb]

Originally posted by draugos:
OGB, where have you seen that it's necessary to have a special ticket from the Football Association in England to buy tickets for the games ? I was in Great Britain last year, and I went to several games without having a special ticket or having my identity checked.


It was on TV, I guess shortly before the WC in 1998. And I think to have heard about it again before the EC 2000 as the officials in Europe are always worried how to control especially the British hooligans. In this sense I heard about the ticketing rule in the EPL. Maybe they don't have it anymore, but I think it was a good rule.
The people in the stadiums are called stewards, I guess.