Football Hooliganism

Though hooliganism in football originated in Britain, it is today by no means isolated to the UK, and is in fact a major source of concern and much sociological and psychological research across Europe and other nations. It is today an accepted fact that hooliganism has had its presence in various countries across the last century. Hooliganism became a growing trend in British soccer, earning notoriety for outrageous behaviour, and rampant violence and hit a calamitous proportions in the eighties, with the Heysel disaster that led to the banning of the British club teams from various European cup competitions. This discrimination against the hooligans, without any idea of or concern for the root cause of the phenomenon, was almost universal. It was fully backed by the authorities, who believed more in short-term inhibitory measures than placing an emphasis on long-term socio-cultural issues, like class resentments. The police response to hooliganism was predictably harsh and repressive, at the cost of the elite class, who would be kept safe from attack in cordoned-off areas. Soccer hooliganism is a phenomenon that is unlikely to go away anytime soon.

Keywords: hooliganism, soccer, football fan, popular culture, hooligan