The UK of football hooligans

British football hooligans are the most famous. Football hooligans have caused many tragedies on football fields. Beginning in the 1960s, British football hooligans gained global notoriety. The British domestic media hailed it as "England's disaster." From the 1980s to the 1990s, the British government spent a lot of manpower and material resources to combat football-related violent activities. After the 1990s, football hooliganism gradually spread in other parts of Europe, but football hooliganism in England was suppressed on a large scale, which also greatly improved the reputation of British fans in Europe. Although news about violent conflicts between British football hooligans still appears in the newspapers from time to time, most violent incidents are limited to fights organized by football hooligans themselves. Violent activities in the areas around the stadium on match days have been effectively curbed.

However, in view of the bad record of British football hooligans in the past, other European regions often cooperate with the British police when hosting large-scale events, putting football hooligans with criminal records on the monitoring list, and strictly monitoring their every move. Monitor and even ban them from entering the country. Some people believe that football hooligans are a form of resistance by disadvantaged groups who are excluded from society. An investigation by the British police found that most of the behavior of football hooligans is caused by psychological factors, such as the breakdown of family relationships and venting dissatisfaction. Walgrave, a psychologist who specializes in football hooliganism, believes this is a manifestation of racism and right-wing fanaticism. The earliest football hooliganism in England can be traced back to the 1880s. At that time, derbies in the same city often occurred with varying degrees of violence. Although the number of spectators who went to the away game to watch the game was limited, incidents of home team fans attacking the referee and visiting team players still occurred from time to time. In the early 1980s, in order to avoid attracting the attention of the police, football hooligans began to appear around the stadium and in bars wearing high-end designer clothes. This phenomenon was called "casual" (Casual), and then gradually developed into a subcultural phenomenon.

In the 1970s, football hooligan gangs (Firm) began to form with a well-organized form. The following table lists well-known English football hooligan gangs: Names of club gangs supported: Everton County Road Cutters Arsenal Gooners, The Herd Aston Villa Villa Youth (Villa Youth), C-Crew, Villa Hardcore Birmingham City Zulu (Zulu's Warriors), Zulu's Army, The Zulu Zulu Derby Lunatic Fringe Chelsea Headhunters Leeds Service Crew Middlesbrough Middlesborough Frontline Newcastle United Gremlins Manchester United Red Army Portsmouth 6.57 Crew Sheffield United Blades Business Crew Tottenham Hotspur Yid Army Wolves Subway Army West Ham United Inter City Firm The Muckers Blackpool The Legion Millwall Bushwackers The Vauxies, Seaborne Seaburn Casuals) Stoke City Naughty Forty (Naughty Forty) Two vicious stadium violence in 1973 led to England's football stadiums starting to install guardrails to separate fans from both sides.

When Manchester United was relegated to English League Two, the "Red Army" composed of Manchester United football hooligans frequently caused trouble across the country.

A young Blackpool FC fan was stabbed to death by a Bolton Wanderers fan behind the Cop Stand at Broomfield Road during a League Two match.

In 1975, before the relegation battle between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, football hooligans from both sides fought in the stadium. This news shocked the whole of England. Images of the conflict even appeared on British television.

In March 1978, Millwall and Ipswich met in the FA Cup quarter-finals. Massive violence broke out at Millwall's home ground. The fight first broke out in the stands and quickly spread to the infield and the narrow streets surrounding the stadium. For a moment, bottles, knives, and concrete slabs were flying all over the sky. Many innocent fans even suffered as a result. In March 1985, the same Millwall football hooligans were once again involved in a large-scale riot in Luton. At that time, the two teams also met in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. The then British Prime Minister Margaret Hilda Thatcher even established a "war cabinet" to formulate countermeasures to suppress football hooligans. On May 29, 1985, 39 Juventus fans died during the European Champions League match between Liverpool and Juventus. The disaster occurred at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels and was known as the "Heysel Disaster" in history.

On May 11, 1985, before the start of Birmingham City’s home game against Leeds United, a 14-year-old boy died on the spot at St. Andrews Stadium. Football hooligans who engaged in large-scale clashes tore down the separation wall set up by the police, ultimately leading to tragedy. Subsequently, Justice Beauperville intervened in the investigation. The Commission of Inquiry described football hooliganism as: "more like the Battle of Agincourt than a football match." In 1986, football hooliganism showed no sign of stopping. In the early 1980s, football hooliganism spread across the UK. The mid-term report of the investigation committee even concluded that "based on the current situation, football may not last long." For a time, the survival and development of football itself was threatened by football hooligan activities. Some people even suggested that the British government ban fans from going to away games to curb football violence to the greatest extent.

In order to completely suppress football hooligans, Mrs. Thatcher stated that she would use severe judicial means to combat domestic football violence. The proposal received an enthusiastic response from the public. Then-Sports Secretary Colin Moynihan introduced a fan ID card system to control football hooligans.

In January 1988, at Arsenal's Highbury Stadium, Millwall football hooligans were involved in their third large-scale violent conflict in the 1980s. In the fight between the "herd" and the "guerrillas", a total of 41 perpetrators were arrested by the police.

After the "Hillsborough Disaster" in 1989 (which was not caused by football hooliganism), the promulgation of the "Football Spectators Act" and the publication of the "Taylor Report" accelerated the construction of stadium safety facilities. But football hooliganism continues. In 1995, during a match between England and Ireland, English football hooligans threw debris into the lower stands and tore down the stadium seats. A large-scale conflict ensued between football hooligans and the police, with 50 people injured.

Since the 1980s, conflicts have occurred from time to time between fans in England and Germany. After England was eliminated by Germany in the semi-finals of Euro 1996, football hooligans from the two teams fought in Trafalgar Square, resulting in many injuries. A young Russian was even stabbed in Brighton after being mistaken for a German. Football hooligan conflicts between England and other countries also occur from time to time. During the 1998 World Cup, conflicts broke out between English football hooligans and local North African immigrants in Marseille, resulting in the arrest of at least 100 people.

In the 21st century, the culture of "casual wear" has been further developed. Some fashion brands have gradually become the first choice for football hooligans. It has even happened that some fashion brands have withdrawn styles popular with football hooligans from their shelves in order to distance themselves from football hooliganism. Forums, mobile websites and chat rooms have gradually become new channels for football hooligans to plan and organize fights. Some football hooligans provoke each other online via the Internet.

Violent conflicts around English stadiums have gradually decreased with the improvement of stadium security equipment. Football hooliganism after the 21st century mainly occurs away from the stadium and in large-scale international events.

In the 2000 European Cup, England was even threatened to be banned from participating in the finals due to its bad record of football hooliganism. During the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan and the 2004 European Cup in Portugal, English football hooligans restrained themselves. It also greatly improved the image of British football fans. During the 2006 World Cup in Germany, more than 200 England fans were arrested in Stuttgart due to the need to prevent football hooligan activities (only three of them were accused of participating in violent activities). The other 400 fans were under close police surveillance. According to police investigation reports at the time, these fans consumed an average of at least 17 liters of beer each.

Although the domestic football hooligan activities are showing a declining trend, death threats have become a new means for football hooligans to gain public attention. Rio Ferdinand, who moved to Manchester United, and Peter Ridsdale, then chairman of Leeds United, both received death threats from Leeds United football hooligans. Swedish referee Anders Frisk has received death threats from Chelsea hooligans over his controversial decisions in the Champions League. In 2006, Reading's Ibrahima Sonko and Stephen Hunter also became targets of threats from Chelsea football hooligans. Sol Campbell and Fernando Torres have both received death threats over their transfers. In September 2004, a brawl between football hooligans from Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers resulted in the death of one person.

In 20 years, there has been no large-scale violent conflict between football hooligans in England. But on August 25, 2009, everything came to an abrupt end. In the second round of the League Cup, a pair of London rivals West Ham United and Millwall met. During the game, football hooligans rushed into the field from time to time, and large-scale fights also occurred in the area around the stadium, resulting in one person being stabbed.

During the 2010 World Cup, England's 1-4 defeat by Germany almost led to large-scale violence. An English football hooligan set a German flag on fire in Leicester Square. An ice cream shop was vandalized by football hooligans. A German fan was spotted in the crowd by an English football hooligan, but there were no casualties.

On December 1, 2010, Aston Villa and Birmingham City met in the League Cup. A total of 14 people were injured in the violent conflict. This was just before England voted to bid for the 2018 World Cup. Less than 24 hours. Football hooligans throw fireworks into the stadium. Football hooliganism in England is gradually showing a trend of developing towards younger ages. In the 2009-10 season, there were a total of 103 football hooligan activities involving minors, while the number last season was only 38. Former football hooligan Cass Pennant believes that rising unemployment, poverty and youth dissatisfaction with society due to the UK's economic recession are the main reasons for the rebound in football hooliganism. In the 1980s, casual dress culture spread widely in Scotland. Football hooligans at Aberdeen Football Club were the first to adopt casual wear culture. The gradually developing bald and punk cultural elements have gradually been integrated into football hooligan activities. The first one to bear the brunt is Section B (Section B) composed of football hooligans from Airdrie Football Club. The football hooliganism of Hearts and Rangers, which had previously dominated the country, gradually came under the influence of plain-clothed football hooligan groups (known locally in Scotland as the "Mobs"). Afterwards, a culture of casual clothing began to spread among many football hooligan gangs in Scotland.

In the 1980s, the football hooligan gangs of Aberdeen and Irish Football Club became the most appalling plainclothes football hooligans in Scotland, especially the Capital City Servise (CCS) of the Irish Football Club. . Entering the 21st century, football hooliganism in Scotland has shown a gradual decline trend. But there are still some areas where football hooligans are still active.