Youth Crime and Media MEP 208 9 Football

Youth, Crime and Media MEP 208 9. Football hooliganism

Hooliganism timeline • 1898: the term ‘hooligan’ first in common usage, assoc. with Irish w-class living in Britain (Pearson 1983) • 1966: the label ‘hooligan’ first attached to violence at football grounds, assoc. with skinhead groups (Osgerby 1998) • 1970 s/early 1980 s: escalating violence • 1985: various incidents, notably Heysel • 1989: Hillsborough disaster

Causes of hooliganism? § Mindless aggression by non-football fans? – NO § Reactions to the behaviour / performance of players? – UNLIKELY § Economic deprivation – POSSIBLY § Alcohol and other drugs – POSSIBLY § Incitement to national, racial or religious hatred – POSSIBLY

Key policy initiatives in response to football hooliganism (1) Lang Report (1969) – barriers erected at grounds to enable ‘the segregation of young people from other spectators’ Football Spectators Act (1989) – proposed ID cards and imposed restrictions on travelling abroad Taylor Report (1990) – barriers removed, requirements for all-seater stadia, alcohol prohibited, player misbehaviour and sensational media coverage criticised

Key policy initiatives in response to football hooliganism (2) • Criminal Justice and Public Order Act (1994) – no unauthorised ticket sales, no chanting or gesturing deemed ‘threatening, abusive or insulting’ • Football Disorder Act (2000) – abolishes the distinction between domestic and international banning orders, widens the definition of ‘football-related offences’ to include journeys to and from the match (and 24 hours either side of kick-off time)

Changing structure of football as a game / industry (Ian Taylor 1971) • During 20 th. C shift from amateur / local to professional / international contexts • Pre-1940 s: football clubs provide for a ‘participatory democracy’ • Post-1940 s: supporters increasingly excluded from club decision-making • A ‘soccer subculture’ forms – hooligans are labelled / criminalised by police, etc.

Disorder and moral panics (Muncie 2004: 121) Identification of a subversive minority. . . Simplification of the cause. . . Stigmatisation of those involved. . . Stirring of public indignation. . . Stamping down hard!!!

The social order of fan activity (Marsh et al. 1997) ‘Rules of disorder’ - hooligan groups are hierarchical, tightly organised, self-policed Careers are laid out: 1. NOVICES – c. 10 -12 years 2. ROWDIES – 12 -17 years 3. TOWN BOYS – 17 -c. 25 years § Roles assigned to ROWDIES: chant leader, aggro leader, nutter, hooligan, organiser, fighter, heavy drinker

Violent w-class masculine style (Williams et al 1989) • Most violent hooligan offenders are men from rough lower working class • Emphasis on respectable appearance to conceal ‘unrespectable’ behaviour • Macho reputations rest on varying degrees of hostility to outsiders • Socialisation of others inc. own children and disaffected youth from respectable w-class or m-class backgrounds

Unorganised hooliganism (Garland Rowe 2000) • Policing of organised ‘firms’ has benefited from improved intelligence • But spontaneous trouble (often far outside stadia) more difficult to monitor • CCTV is “too slow and cumbersome at reacting to flashpoints of disorder, and consequently missed these types of incident” (p. 155)