Sunday, March 19, 2006
It's not gone yet
My article from the ECFC v Grays, FA Trophy Semi-Final 1st Leg 18th March 2006
Football hooliganism has been in the headlines again recently, and this time it seems it is not the English who have caused the problems. Last week, Rangers “fans” were seen pelting the Villarreal players’ coach before their Champions’ League game in Spain. And then on Wednesday, a group of Roma’s “Ultras” (hardcore fans) were reported to have attacked a couple of bars in the centre of Rome which were full of Middlesbrough fans (including families) having a drink before their Uefa Cup match. 3 ‘Boro fans were stabbed, with 15 UK fans in total being hospitalised.
English football fans of course have a reputation for causing trouble when they travel away. However, the authorities have made a lot of progress in dealing with this problem, as was demonstrated by the very small number of arrests at Euro 2004 in Portugal. Seemingly the most effect preventative measure has been the confiscating of the passports of the most well-known trouble makers, thereby stopping them travelling. The introduction of football banning orders in the UK has also lead to a reduction in football related violence at domestic games. While the problem has not been totally eradicated, English football has taken significant steps in the right direction.
The same it seems cannot be said in relation to other countries. Italian football has an endemic problem with football hooliganism about which little seems to be done. There are regular problems at Italian league games. A recent high-profile example of trouble in Italy was the Champions’ League game between Inter Milan and AC Milan last season. Disgruntled Inter Milan fans began throwing dozens of flares onto the pitch when it seemed their side was destined to lose the tie. (They were 1-0 on the night, and 3-0 down on aggregate). Smoke filled the air, and one of the flares struck Dida, AC Milan ‘s Brazilian goalkeeper, on the back of the head. The match was abandoned with the game being awarded to AC Milan.
Uefa punished Inter Milan by forcing them to play their next 3 European games behind closed doors. Given that the first two of these games were for the qualifying stage of the competition where their attendances are generally quite low anyway, this was not much of a punishment for their fans actions. For some reason, I get the feeling things might have been a bit different if an English club had been involved. After all, hooliganism has in the past been described as an “English disease”!
It is not just in the realm of hooliganism that English football seems to be taking the lead. Racism has been a huge problem in the past in this country, however the “Kick racism out of football” campaign has helped to deal with it. While again no one would claim that it has been totally removed, progress has certainly been made. It is, however, still a common problem in some other European countries, particularly Spain where Barcelona’s Samuel E’to threatened to walk off the pitch during a league game recently because of the abuse he was being subjected to.
We should not be complacent about the efforts made in this country and must continue to fight problems that give football a bad name. However, I’m looking forward to the World Cup in the summer, not just for the obvious on-pitch reasons, but because I’m hopeful that we English fans might actually be seen to no longer deserve our bad reputation. I certainly think we are no longer the group most likely to cause problems at international tournaments.
Football hooliganism has been in the headlines again recently, and this time it seems it is not the English who have caused the problems. Last week, Rangers “fans” were seen pelting the Villarreal players’ coach before their Champions’ League game in Spain. And then on Wednesday, a group of Roma’s “Ultras” (hardcore fans) were reported to have attacked a couple of bars in the centre of Rome which were full of Middlesbrough fans (including families) having a drink before their Uefa Cup match. 3 ‘Boro fans were stabbed, with 15 UK fans in total being hospitalised.
English football fans of course have a reputation for causing trouble when they travel away. However, the authorities have made a lot of progress in dealing with this problem, as was demonstrated by the very small number of arrests at Euro 2004 in Portugal. Seemingly the most effect preventative measure has been the confiscating of the passports of the most well-known trouble makers, thereby stopping them travelling. The introduction of football banning orders in the UK has also lead to a reduction in football related violence at domestic games. While the problem has not been totally eradicated, English football has taken significant steps in the right direction.
The same it seems cannot be said in relation to other countries. Italian football has an endemic problem with football hooliganism about which little seems to be done. There are regular problems at Italian league games. A recent high-profile example of trouble in Italy was the Champions’ League game between Inter Milan and AC Milan last season. Disgruntled Inter Milan fans began throwing dozens of flares onto the pitch when it seemed their side was destined to lose the tie. (They were 1-0 on the night, and 3-0 down on aggregate). Smoke filled the air, and one of the flares struck Dida, AC Milan ‘s Brazilian goalkeeper, on the back of the head. The match was abandoned with the game being awarded to AC Milan.
Uefa punished Inter Milan by forcing them to play their next 3 European games behind closed doors. Given that the first two of these games were for the qualifying stage of the competition where their attendances are generally quite low anyway, this was not much of a punishment for their fans actions. For some reason, I get the feeling things might have been a bit different if an English club had been involved. After all, hooliganism has in the past been described as an “English disease”!
It is not just in the realm of hooliganism that English football seems to be taking the lead. Racism has been a huge problem in the past in this country, however the “Kick racism out of football” campaign has helped to deal with it. While again no one would claim that it has been totally removed, progress has certainly been made. It is, however, still a common problem in some other European countries, particularly Spain where Barcelona’s Samuel E’to threatened to walk off the pitch during a league game recently because of the abuse he was being subjected to.
We should not be complacent about the efforts made in this country and must continue to fight problems that give football a bad name. However, I’m looking forward to the World Cup in the summer, not just for the obvious on-pitch reasons, but because I’m hopeful that we English fans might actually be seen to no longer deserve our bad reputation. I certainly think we are no longer the group most likely to cause problems at international tournaments.
