Are we a disgrace ?

[hell2bwith76]

I can`t help but comment on the disgusting way in which the British Football fans behave .I have a few choice names for them :- slobs ,louts, Hooligans , Scumbags, ( you can think of more !)
I`m not a football fan but i decided to watch England on TV last night as it`s my home country . The fans were an utter disgrace ! A street filled with Scottish fans were throwing beer over two English fans who were just walking down the street to get to the gates i presume. I don`t think there was any fights but the Scots fans were animals ! . I`ve no doubt that English fans are just as bad but didn`t see them on the News .
Is there any other sport who`s followers /fans behave like this ? Rugby ( they drink in the grounds) nope , Tennis ,nope ,Horse racing nope ,golf nope ,Cricket nope...and on and on. Our Nation is a disgrace with football fans and i think it`s about time something was done about them.

<death threats on a stamped ,self addressed envelope please !>.

 

[Soul_Less]

Unfortunately, sport, but Football in particular, has become a vessel for political expression.

 

[hell2bwith76]

Unfortunately, sport, but Football in particular, has become a vessel for political expression.

As i wrote ,i don`t know of any other sport except football where the fans behave like demented animals !. If you can think of a similar sport tell me ?

 

[Soul_Less]

Well, my comment doesn't dispute your claim but merely highlights how sport can be used to vent political issues. Football in particular does appear to contain a section of support who use aggressive behaviour to express those differences, but it's by no means the exclusive domain of British fans; football violence is, and has been a problem all over the world. It's unfortunately part of the tribal nature and history of football.

 

[hell2bwith76]

Well, my comment doesn't dispute your claim but merely highlights how sport can be used to vent political issues. Football in particular does appear to contain a section of support who use aggressive behaviour to express those differences, but it's by no means the exclusive domain of British fans; football violence is, and has been a problem all over the world. It's unfortunately part of the tribal nature and history of football.

I wondered if it was perhaps the Domaine of the Brits : thanks . I feel more relieved now /

 

[Soul_Less]

Perhaps it just feels that way when analysing the situation from with in the UK, which is understandable if you're not - as previously stated - a fan of the game. But I think it's more an issue of human nature than a specific cultural problem.
You may be interested in researching similar events with Ajax (Dutch) Galatasaray (Turkish) Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) Roma (Italy) and many more examples. These are slightly different comparisons as I appreciate you're referring to national representation and not club rivalry. However, these components of support galvanise during international events to form hostile and violent cells of toxic support, hence the racial abuse many of the British players receive in other countries during international duty and the gratuitous violence some our fans encounter on their travels overseas. It really is a global problem.

 

[hell2bwith76]

Perhaps it just feels that way when analysing the situation from with in the UK, which is understandable if you're not - as previously stated - a fan of the game. But I think it's more an issue of human nature than a specific cultural problem.
You may be interested in researching similar events with Ajax (Dutch) Galatasaray (Turkish) Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) Roma (Italy) and many more examples. These are slightly different comparisons as I appreciate you're referring to national representation and not club rivalry. However, these components of support galvanise during international events to form hostile and violent cells of toxic support, hence the racial abuse many of the British players receive in other countries during international duty and the gratuitous violence some our fans encounter on their travels overseas. It really is a global problem.

So why don`t other Sports suffer the same issues ? Rugby fans every country drink beer in the stands and don`t show the whacky scenes which football fans show ? How about Cricket ? same thing ..no obvious hostility between International teams ; same with any sport you care to mention apart from Football?.
I think it`s a mindset of football fans from any country ( now you say) .Are they from a different class to other sport followers ? Loonie footbal fans pushing their faces into the Cameras to show silly looks ...it`s just pathetic .

 

[HarvestMouse]

Although it started here, football hooligans are everywhere. There was a good documentary following Russian football hooligans a few years ago. They are really hardcore, training regimes, healthy lifestyle, very organised. Violence, racism, hate is just part of football culture for many (not all). It’s an outlet for a certain type of man.

 

[Wojcik]

Part of our culture unfortunately. People think it's acceptable to drink to an excessive state where they can't even function, and then become aggressive, even violent towards others. So i don't think it's entirely a football thing, but more of a culture of binge drinking issue.

 

[levelground]

I can`t help but comment on the disgusting way in which the British Football fans behave .I have a few choice names for them :- slobs ,louts, Hooligans , Scumbags, ( you can think of more !)
I`m not a football fan but i decided to watch England on TV last night as it`s my home country . The fans were an utter disgrace ! A street filled with Scottish fans were throwing beer over two English fans who were just walking down the street to get to the gates i presume. I don`t think there was any fights but the Scots fans were animals ! . I`ve no doubt that English fans are just as bad but didn`t see them on the News .
Is there any other sport who`s followers /fans behave like this ? Rugby ( they drink in the grounds) nope , Tennis ,nope ,Horse racing nope ,golf nope ,Cricket nope...and on and on. Our Nation is a disgrace with football fans and i think it`s about time something was done about them.

<death threats on a stamped ,self addressed envelope please !>.

I think its where you get your news from, I remember Scots getting beaten so bad that they needed hospital treatment, also did the news media you watched, showed an army of Scots fans helping clearing up the streets in London with the council worker before they get the train back north. Do not tar all supporters with the same brush that is how trouble starts. Also don't believen all you read/see in the media, they love to bring up the troubles between the auld enimies of the 70's..... One more this, you have to make the distintion between football violence and banter, pouring beer on fans is banter, using the bottle as a weapon is violence.

 

[hell2bwith76]

I think its where you get your news from, I remember Scots getting beaten so bad that they needed hospital treatment, also did the news media you watched, showed an army of Scots fans helping clearing up the streets in London with the council worker before they get the train back north. Do not tar all supporters with the same brush that is how trouble starts. Also don't believe all you read/see in the media, they love to bring up the troubles between the auld enimies of the 70's..... One more this, you have to make the distinction between football violence and banter, pouring beer on fans is banter, using the bottle as a weapon is violence.

I was talking about football fans in general ,not isolating the Scots fans. If you care to re-read what i wrote you might note that i made a direct comparison between Football fans and fans of all other International sports . If you can show that any other sport attracts lunatic fans then by all means accuse me of writing inaccurate garbage .
Btw ,i did see the Scots fans hepling to clear up the mess in Leicester square the day after and praise that ,yet again suggest that you read what i write ,not what you think i write.

 

[levelground]

I was talking about football fans in general ,not isolating the Scots fans. If you care to re-read what i wrote you might note that i made a direct comparison between Football fans and fans of all other International sports . If you can show that any other sport attracts lunatic fans then by all means accuse me of writing inaccurate garbage .
Btw ,i did see the Scots fans hepling to clear up the mess in Leicester square the day after and praise that ,yet again suggest that you read what i write ,not what you think i write.

You asked for it........My turn

Part 1 of 2

Violence off the field have been recorded around the world since the turn of the 20th century. Just like in any human interaction when there are two opposing sides tension will rises especially when the opposing sides believe that they are better then the other, also just like an explosion all it takes is a spark to ignite it and in the case of sport, its the winning or the loosing that is the spark and if it looks like there is a possibility that the winning were the favourites to win, then the forget the spark it then becomes a time bomb. Many situations violence is the outcome whether its over lost money in a game of pool in the pub and the pride of someone is broken or which we see more on the increase is in the classroom where the teacher upsets a teenager in front a class of their peers and sorry to say we find that its both male and female where before discipline, respect and punishment from not only from the school but the parents. Violence in crowds where we find mainly violence in sports, there are 5 main reason that crowds become violent and they are


1.Anxiety - People are anxious these days for a variety of reasons and losing your grip on what is right vs wrong is more likely when you are tired, stressed, and angry. Having travelled 100 miles on a team bus having been up at 5 am, skipped breakfast before meeting up with your mates and other you don't know, the bus is crowed, hot, alcohol is flowing, football chants, jokes being played on each other for some they would rather gone some other way. Between school, work, terrorism, bullying, and debt there is a lot for Millennials and Generation Z to worry about, many of us have some sort of mental illness, I am not saying that mental illness is an excuse for violence but those with violent tendencies have been found to have a form of mental illness many suffering from childhood up bringing or suffering some form of PTSD, we should not underestimate the impact on anxiety and stress on impulse control and losing your grip on what is wrong or write is likely when your stress or tired.



2. Emotions – We all know how emotions can play on how we feel and when your side is losing we tend to get frustrated, angry, tense, quick with the tongue and some quick with throwing the beer can, the remote control or the fist. We learn to control our impulsive behaviour as a child and as long as the world treats us with respect and fairness we tend to walk a straight line, but soon as someone start to upset our world then our emotions starts to sway from the line. For example you have gone to watch a boxing match, the sport in itself is violent, but you will be ringside wanting to cheer on your boxer, maybe even a friend or relative, you are so convinced that they are going to win you have £100 you cannot really afford but at 10/1 to win and you know by a bit of inside knowledge your on a sure thing. While at the bar you over hear two people speaking, they are crushing your boxer, saying things that he was really bad in training, or that he has an injury, word that he is not as good as his trainers made out......Could this be true, what about the £100 or even the extra money you have been dreaming for spending when he some through for you..... What are your emotions? Put those emotions you have now and then imagine that those emotions are into 20,000 in a football ground and your team is losing badly and that £100 x 20,000 that a huge loss and a huge build up of emotions



3.Weather – Yes the weather can turn a wonderful calm day into a day of violence. We are at a cricket match, the British countryside, leather on willow, cucumber sandwiches and tea fron China hand painted tea cups, nothing more English. A study found that probability of a bowler hitting a wicket with a ball increases as the temperature goes up. The bowlers weren’t losing the ability to control where the ball goes (the number walks issued was the same across heat levels) but they were feeling frustrated, blame the Great British summer weather, cricket is best played on a over cast days so I have heard. Now take both the team and the fans to Australia where there is no such thing as British Summer, its hot, beers is free flowing, England is slowly losing, the heat is increasing and fans are getting not only drunk, dehydrated and frustrated a recipe for an outburst.



4. Anonymity – Yes something we all would love, your in a crowd of 5000, what are the chances of being spotted, the guy next to you in the stalls at sport of your choice and hurls a coin and it hit one of the opposing team in the head, the cheer rings out from the crowd, you look around, the coin chucker has gone, or has he, he is just another face in the crowd, then a bottle, goes flying by, a can, a stick all by unknown faces.
Social psychology studies demonstrate that people, even children, are capable of acting in aggressive ways when identity is concealed. We cannot be held responsible if we cannot be seen doing it, cannot be held responsible if we are a face in the crowd. We see it all the time not just in sport aggression, but street riots after sports matches, as long as we cannot be seen we are invisible to the world. When we come across someone wearing a mask or a hat and scarf we cannot read that person, even more so if their eye are covered so fear developed in us and of course if we are wearing the same fear in our opposites, fear in the other fans who are just a mirror of our self. So picking up a rock, throwing it we have anonymity, who cares, lets fight.


5. Finally and most important is Social Contagion – We live our life in Social Contagion, its always part of what turns peaceful protest into violence and chaos, we did it as a child and your Father would scorn at you “If he jumped off a bridge would you do it also” and with enough encouragement and if enough of your peers did it then of course you will do it. Social Contagion is really great and you have witnessed and maybe taken part in the fun, a 'Mexican Wave' is Social Contagion you get the idea from one, then the other, then someone starts to shout “yeahhhhh” every one shouts “yeahhhhh” and your having a great time – The someone put a brick through a shop window and someone looks and then they do it and then another takes some stock out the window and you watch 5 people do it and then 10 and then you do and you have just found the evil side of Social Contagion, social behaviour. Outside the sports ground, someone jeers, “Ha Ha your team lost, they are crap, couldn't win if they played by themselves” then another starts yelling, someone pulls his scarf up around his face and throws a brick and then Social Contagion kicks in and the evil Mexican Wave has now begun and people may die.

So there is the bases of violence, the question was about football, but its not only football every sport has known violence on and off the pitch from when sport became a recorded game and the first recorded game was in Australia.
During a cricket match in 1879 when over 2000 fans invaded the pitch during a cricket match when an umpire dispute broke out between members of a English cricket team and and NSW Cricket Association, three fans where arrested

 

[levelground]

I was talking about football fans in general ,not isolating the Scots fans. If you care to re-read what i wrote you might note that i made a direct comparison between Football fans and fans of all other International sports . If you can show that any other sport attracts lunatic fans then by all means accuse me of writing inaccurate garbage .
Btw ,i did see the Scots fans hepling to clear up the mess in Leicester square the day after and praise that ,yet again suggest that you read what i write ,not what you think i write.

Part 2 of 2

June 6 1908– At the end of a fiery VFL match between Fitzroy and Essendon at the Brunswick Street Oval, a group of Fitzroy fans invaded the ground and assaulted Essendon players as they tried to leave the field, forcing Essendon fans to jump the fence in order to protect their players; a wild all-in brawl between players, rival fans and team officials ensued, and Essendon's captain Alan Belcher was escorted from the ground under the protection of Victoria Police Constable and former Collingwood player Bill Proudfoot. Three players were suspended for four matches each by the VFL

1913 June 4 - One of the famous especially in the UK – Emily Davison, a women's suffrage activist, ran onto the track during The Derby race and was trampled to death by a horse.

1924 May 18 – During the Olympic rugby union final between France and the United States at Colombes Stadium, French fans booed and hissed the American team for the remainder of the game after star player Adolphe Jauréguy was flattened by a hard tackle two minutes after the opening whistle, leaving him unconscious with blood pouring down his face and having to be carried off the field on a stretcher. In the second half, French fans threw bottles and rocks onto the field and at American players and officials, wild brawls broke out in the stands, U.S. reserve Gideon Nelson was knocked unconscious after being hit in the face by a walking stick, and French fans invaded the pitch at the final whistle, leaving the French team, aided by the police, to protect the Americans. At the medal ceremony, "The Star-Spangled Banner" was drowned out by the booing and hissing of French fans, and the American team had to be escorted to their locker room under police protection.

February 13 1971– During the second day of the seventh and final Ashes Test between Australia and England at the Sydney Cricket Ground, beer bottles and cans were thrown onto the outfield and English fast bowler John Snow was loudly booed and manhandled by a drunk and drug-affected fan on the boundary when Australian Terry Jenner was forced to retire hurt after having accidentally ducked into a bouncer from Snow. English captain Ray Illingworth pulled his team from the field in disgust, but England returned seven minutes later after umpires Tom Brooks and Lou Rowan warned Illingworth that the match and the Ashes would be awarded to Australia. During a further seven-minute delay to clear the field, a sight-screen attendant was hit by a beer can thrown from the crowd, leaving him unconscious and having to be carried from the field on a stretcher. 14 fans were arrested for offensive behaviour and a further 190 were ejected.

1978 - During a Central Hockey League game between the Fort Worth Texans and Dallas Black Hawks at the Will Rogers Coliseum, during a "ten cent beer night" promotion, a bench-clearing brawl resulted in further altercations involving brawls between rival fans in the stands. Five fans were injured and ten arrested. This and the earlier ten-cent beer night incident in Cleveland led to the banning of significant discount alcohol promotions and tighter regulation of other alcohol promotional sales.

October 5 – 1980 During the Hardie-Ferodo Bathurst 1000 race, Dick Johnson crashed heavily into a wall on lap 17 of the race while leading after hitting a football sized rock that had been accidentally kicked onto the track by drunk Holden fans, writing off his car. A distraught Johnson subsequently appeared on live television stating he had dedicated all of his finances in a final shot at the winning the race after ten years as a competent mid-fielder. Telecaster ATN7 set up a telethon to raise money to get Johnson back into racing in 1981; he won the Bathurst 1000 and the ATCC that year.

April 30 1993– During a changeover in a tennis match in Hamburg, Germany, tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed in the back by Steffi Graf fan Günter Parche.

April 7 2000– During a Davis Cup Tennis rubber between Chile and Argentina held in what later became the Movistar Arena, the Chilean crowd booed the Argentinian team and pelted Argentinian players and officials with fruit, coins, and plastic chairs, causing numerous delays. The Chilean Tennis Federation were fined US$50,000 for the incident and having inadequate security, and then lost the home court rights for two years.

August 10 2002 – During a rugby union Tri Nations match at the ABSA Stadium between South Africa and New Zealand, a drunk South African fan, Pieter van Zyl, scaled a perimeter fence, ran onto the pitch and tackled the referee, David McHugh of Ireland, leaving McHugh with a dislocated shoulder and having to be carried from the pitch on a stretcher. All Blacks flanker Richie McCaw wrestled him to the ground until police and security arrested him. van Zyl was convicted of trespassing and assault, and was sentenced to three months in jail, fined $275, and banned for life from attending rugby matches in South Africa

August 29 2004 – During the men's marathon event at the 2004 Summer Olympics, defrocked Irish-born priest Neil Horan burst out of the crowd to accost race leader Vanderlei de Lima. The action may have cost de Lima the gold medal, although many observers have noted that Stefano Baldini of Italy and Mebrahtom Keflezighi of the United States were gaining on him before the attack. De Lima ultimately placed third in the race behind Baldini and Keflezighi. De Lima later declined to protest the result, for which the IOC compensated him with the De Coubertin medal. Fellow Brazilian and Olympic beach volleyball player Emanuel Rego, who won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games, was so impressed with de Lima's sportsmanship that he gave his gold medal to de Lima on television on July 1, 2005. A deeply and visibly touched Vanderlei returned it, saying that "I can't accept Emanuel's medal. I'm happy with mine, it's bronze but means gold".

The worse recorded deaths due to sport, was not football or American Football but chariot racing in Constantinople, AD 532: Nika Riots 1000's were killed, in the sixth century in the Byzantine Empire, chariot racing was todays football and unlike football of today no teams to race to the finish supported by fans but two factions. Blues and the Greens, who represented the ruling class and the people respectively. Emperor Justinian was a supporter of the blues. After several members of both blue and green were arrested for murder, there was a protest and some protestors attacked Justinian's palace. The crowd had killed dozens of people, and had also declared a new emperor, but Justinian ordered his troops into the mob; butchering and murdering thousands over the next few days. The final death count is somewhat debated, but some sources claim that 30,000 is an accurate number, according to SmithsonianMag.

So really anywhere there are two factions, who wish their favourite to win whether there will be violence not because of the game but because of human nature, the psychology of the mind, the way we follow each other like sheep.

As a footnote, I dislike all sport even though I fenced for the Royal Air Force and missed trials for the UK fencing team due to be being stuck down a hole watching for those pesky Russian. So sport I know longer watch, take part in or care about, but I do care about those who follow like sheep and end up doing something so out of character they end in jail. So next time you see someone picking up a rock or throwing a penny walk the other way as that is the only way we are going to end violence in and out of sport. btw If you find mistakes I have a brain condition that makes writing really difficult and unable to notice mistakes.


References
Harrigan, N., Achananuparpb, P., & Lim, E.P. (2012). Influentials, novelty, and social contagion: The viral power of average friends, close communities, and old news. Social Networks, 34, 470-480. Redirecting - Free Chat Rooms

Larrick, R. P., Timmerman, T. A., Carton, A. M., & Abrevaya, J. (2011). Temper, Temperature, and Temptation: Heat-Related Retaliation in Baseball. Psychological Science, 22, 423-428. DOI: 10.1177/0956797611399292

Tsikerdekis, M. (2013). The effects of perceived anonymity and anonymity states on conformity and groupthink in online communities: A Wikipedia study. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology. 64, 1001–1015. doi:10.1002/asi.22795.

Top 15 Deadliest Sports Riots of All Time

Sports fans have, in many cases, the type of dedication, pride and devotion that is sometimes seen in cults and in religious zealots. About fifteen seconds on a sports fan themed Facebook group can sh

www.thesportster.com

List of violent spectator incidents in sports - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[hell2bwith76]

Part 2 of 2

June 6 1908– At the end of a fiery VFL match between Fitzroy and Essendon at the Brunswick Street Oval, a group of Fitzroy fans invaded the ground and assaulted Essendon players as they tried to leave the field, forcing Essendon fans to jump the fence in order to protect their players; a wild all-in brawl between players, rival fans and team officials ensued, and Essendon's captain Alan Belcher was escorted from the ground under the protection of Victoria Police Constable and former Collingwood player Bill Proudfoot. Three players were suspended for four matches each by the VFL

1913 June 4 - One of the famous especially in the UK – Emily Davison, a women's suffrage activist, ran onto the track during The Derby race and was trampled to death by a horse.

1924 May 18 – During the Olympic rugby union final between France and the United States at Colombes Stadium, French fans booed and hissed the American team for the remainder of the game after star player Adolphe Jauréguy was flattened by a hard tackle two minutes after the opening whistle, leaving him unconscious with blood pouring down his face and having to be carried off the field on a stretcher. In the second half, French fans threw bottles and rocks onto the field and at American players and officials, wild brawls broke out in the stands, U.S. reserve Gideon Nelson was knocked unconscious after being hit in the face by a walking stick, and French fans invaded the pitch at the final whistle, leaving the French team, aided by the police, to protect the Americans. At the medal ceremony, "The Star-Spangled Banner" was drowned out by the booing and hissing of French fans, and the American team had to be escorted to their locker room under police protection.

February 13 1971– During the second day of the seventh and final Ashes Test between Australia and England at the Sydney Cricket Ground, beer bottles and cans were thrown onto the outfield and English fast bowler John Snow was loudly booed and manhandled by a drunk and drug-affected fan on the boundary when Australian Terry Jenner was forced to retire hurt after having accidentally ducked into a bouncer from Snow. English captain Ray Illingworth pulled his team from the field in disgust, but England returned seven minutes later after umpires Tom Brooks and Lou Rowan warned Illingworth that the match and the Ashes would be awarded to Australia. During a further seven-minute delay to clear the field, a sight-screen attendant was hit by a beer can thrown from the crowd, leaving him unconscious and having to be carried from the field on a stretcher. 14 fans were arrested for offensive behaviour and a further 190 were ejected.

1978 - During a Central Hockey League game between the Fort Worth Texans and Dallas Black Hawks at the Will Rogers Coliseum, during a "ten cent beer night" promotion, a bench-clearing brawl resulted in further altercations involving brawls between rival fans in the stands. Five fans were injured and ten arrested. This and the earlier ten-cent beer night incident in Cleveland led to the banning of significant discount alcohol promotions and tighter regulation of other alcohol promotional sales.

October 5 – 1980 During the Hardie-Ferodo Bathurst 1000 race, Dick Johnson crashed heavily into a wall on lap 17 of the race while leading after hitting a football sized rock that had been accidentally kicked onto the track by drunk Holden fans, writing off his car. A distraught Johnson subsequently appeared on live television stating he had dedicated all of his finances in a final shot at the winning the race after ten years as a competent mid-fielder. Telecaster ATN7 set up a telethon to raise money to get Johnson back into racing in 1981; he won the Bathurst 1000 and the ATCC that year.

April 30 1993– During a changeover in a tennis match in Hamburg, Germany, tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed in the back by Steffi Graf fan Günter Parche.

April 7 2000– During a Davis Cup Tennis rubber between Chile and Argentina held in what later became the Movistar Arena, the Chilean crowd booed the Argentinian team and pelted Argentinian players and officials with fruit, coins, and plastic chairs, causing numerous delays. The Chilean Tennis Federation were fined US$50,000 for the incident and having inadequate security, and then lost the home court rights for two years.

August 10 2002 – During a rugby union Tri Nations match at the ABSA Stadium between South Africa and New Zealand, a drunk South African fan, Pieter van Zyl, scaled a perimeter fence, ran onto the pitch and tackled the referee, David McHugh of Ireland, leaving McHugh with a dislocated shoulder and having to be carried from the pitch on a stretcher. All Blacks flanker Richie McCaw wrestled him to the ground until police and security arrested him. van Zyl was convicted of trespassing and assault, and was sentenced to three months in jail, fined $275, and banned for life from attending rugby matches in South Africa

August 29 2004 – During the men's marathon event at the 2004 Summer Olympics, defrocked Irish-born priest Neil Horan burst out of the crowd to accost race leader Vanderlei de Lima. The action may have cost de Lima the gold medal, although many observers have noted that Stefano Baldini of Italy and Mebrahtom Keflezighi of the United States were gaining on him before the attack. De Lima ultimately placed third in the race behind Baldini and Keflezighi. De Lima later declined to protest the result, for which the IOC compensated him with the De Coubertin medal. Fellow Brazilian and Olympic beach volleyball player Emanuel Rego, who won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games, was so impressed with de Lima's sportsmanship that he gave his gold medal to de Lima on television on July 1, 2005. A deeply and visibly touched Vanderlei returned it, saying that "I can't accept Emanuel's medal. I'm happy with mine, it's bronze but means gold".

The worse recorded deaths due to sport, was not football or American Football but chariot racing in Constantinople, AD 532: Nika Riots 1000's were killed, in the sixth century in the Byzantine Empire, chariot racing was todays football and unlike football of today no teams to race to the finish supported by fans but two factions. Blues and the Greens, who represented the ruling class and the people respectively. Emperor Justinian was a supporter of the blues. After several members of both blue and green were arrested for murder, there was a protest and some protestors attacked Justinian's palace. The crowd had killed dozens of people, and had also declared a new emperor, but Justinian ordered his troops into the mob; butchering and murdering thousands over the next few days. The final death count is somewhat debated, but some sources claim that 30,000 is an accurate number, according to SmithsonianMag.

So really anywhere there are two factions, who wish their favourite to win whether there will be violence not because of the game but because of human nature, the psychology of the mind, the way we follow each other like sheep.

As a footnote, I dislike all sport even though I fenced for the Royal Air Force and missed trials for the UK fencing team due to be being stuck down a hole watching for those pesky Russian. So sport I know longer watch, take part in or care about, but I do care about those who follow like sheep and end up doing something so out of character they end in jail. So next time you see someone picking up a rock or throwing a penny walk the other way as that is the only way we are going to end violence in and out of sport. btw If you find mistakes I have a brain condition that makes writing really difficult and unable to notice mistakes.


References
Harrigan, N., Achananuparpb, P., & Lim, E.P. (2012). Influentials, novelty, and social contagion: The viral power of average friends, close communities, and old news. Social Networks, 34, 470-480. Redirecting - Free Chat Rooms

Larrick, R. P., Timmerman, T. A., Carton, A. M., & Abrevaya, J. (2011). Temper, Temperature, and Temptation: Heat-Related Retaliation in Baseball. Psychological Science, 22, 423-428. DOI: 10.1177/0956797611399292

Tsikerdekis, M. (2013). The effects of perceived anonymity and anonymity states on conformity and groupthink in online communities: A Wikipedia study. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology. 64, 1001–1015. doi:10.1002/asi.22795.

Top 15 Deadliest Sports Riots of All Time

Sports fans have, in many cases, the type of dedication, pride and devotion that is sometimes seen in cults and in religious zealots. About fifteen seconds on a sports fan themed Facebook group can sh

www.thesportster.com

List of violent spectator incidents in sports - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Sad to say it but you really have scraped the barrel to get these "odd" occasions in other sports ! The hooliganism is regular in Football and you know it ! Why try to defend the indefensable ?. Bloody hell ! you have to go back to Roman sports BC to find one even ! . I don`t notice any mistakes in your writing btw.

 

[hell2bwith76]

I think its where you get your news from, I remember Scots getting beaten so bad that they needed hospital treatment, also did the news media you watched, showed an army of Scots fans helping clearing up the streets in London with the council worker before they get the train back north. Do not tar all supporters with the same brush that is how trouble starts. Also don't believen all you read/see in the media, they love to bring up the troubles between the auld enimies of the 70's..... One more this, you have to make the distintion between football violence and banter, pouring beer on fans is banter, using the bottle as a weapon is violence.

That beer which was poured over 2 men who were just walking through the drunken mob wasn`t just "banter". It was provocation ! Plus the cans/bottles which held that beer had most likely been inside the mouths of the ones who threw it ,hence giving someone a dose of Covid19 with it`s implications . Think about it ...

 

[Words]

Cricket and the barmy army you want to go to a few matches might change your mind

 

[Words]

Plus what about all them idiots in house of commons screaming insults at each other never mind sport

 

[hell2bwith76]

Plus what about all them idiots in house of commons screaming insults at each other never mind sport

Agreed about the House of Commons but that wasn`t my original remit. It sounds like you agree with the football hooligans then ? Damn silly looking natives painting their faces to look even fiercer than they are ! Their is never any real trouble at a National Cricket match and i think you know it . If there was it`d be a big story for the Media and i ,for one, have never read or seen any on TV

 

[WickedPerdition]

You asked for it........My turn

Part 1 of 2

Violence off the field have been recorded around the world since the turn of the 20th century. Just like in any human interaction when there are two opposing sides tension will rises especially when the opposing sides believe that they are better then the other, also just like an explosion all it takes is a spark to ignite it and in the case of sport, its the winning or the loosing that is the spark and if it looks like there is a possibility that the winning were the favourites to win, then the forget the spark it then becomes a time bomb. Many situations violence is the outcome whether its over lost money in a game of pool in the pub and the pride of someone is broken or which we see more on the increase is in the classroom where the teacher upsets a teenager in front a class of their peers and sorry to say we find that its both male and female where before discipline, respect and punishment from not only from the school but the parents. Violence in crowds where we find mainly violence in sports, there are 5 main reason that crowds become violent and they are


1.Anxiety - People are anxious these days for a variety of reasons and losing your grip on what is right vs wrong is more likely when you are tired, stressed, and angry. Having travelled 100 miles on a team bus having been up at 5 am, skipped breakfast before meeting up with your mates and other you don't know, the bus is crowed, hot, alcohol is flowing, football chants, jokes being played on each other for some they would rather gone some other way. Between school, work, terrorism, bullying, and debt there is a lot for Millennials and Generation Z to worry about, many of us have some sort of mental illness, I am not saying that mental illness is an excuse for violence but those with violent tendencies have been found to have a form of mental illness many suffering from childhood up bringing or suffering some form of PTSD, we should not underestimate the impact on anxiety and stress on impulse control and losing your grip on what is wrong or write is likely when your stress or tired.



2. Emotions – We all know how emotions can play on how we feel and when your side is losing we tend to get frustrated, angry, tense, quick with the tongue and some quick with throwing the beer can, the remote control or the fist. We learn to control our impulsive behaviour as a child and as long as the world treats us with respect and fairness we tend to walk a straight line, but soon as someone start to upset our world then our emotions starts to sway from the line. For example you have gone to watch a boxing match, the sport in itself is violent, but you will be ringside wanting to cheer on your boxer, maybe even a friend or relative, you are so convinced that they are going to win you have £100 you cannot really afford but at 10/1 to win and you know by a bit of inside knowledge your on a sure thing. While at the bar you over hear two people speaking, they are crushing your boxer, saying things that he was really bad in training, or that he has an injury, word that he is not as good as his trainers made out......Could this be true, what about the £100 or even the extra money you have been dreaming for spending when he some through for you..... What are your emotions? Put those emotions you have now and then imagine that those emotions are into 20,000 in a football ground and your team is losing badly and that £100 x 20,000 that a huge loss and a huge build up of emotions



3.Weather – Yes the weather can turn a wonderful calm day into a day of violence. We are at a cricket match, the British countryside, leather on willow, cucumber sandwiches and tea fron China hand painted tea cups, nothing more English. A study found that probability of a bowler hitting a wicket with a ball increases as the temperature goes up. The bowlers weren’t losing the ability to control where the ball goes (the number walks issued was the same across heat levels) but they were feeling frustrated, blame the Great British summer weather, cricket is best played on a over cast days so I have heard. Now take both the team and the fans to Australia where there is no such thing as British Summer, its hot, beers is free flowing, England is slowly losing, the heat is increasing and fans are getting not only drunk, dehydrated and frustrated a recipe for an outburst.



4. Anonymity – Yes something we all would love, your in a crowd of 5000, what are the chances of being spotted, the guy next to you in the stalls at sport of your choice and hurls a coin and it hit one of the opposing team in the head, the cheer rings out from the crowd, you look around, the coin chucker has gone, or has he, he is just another face in the crowd, then a bottle, goes flying by, a can, a stick all by unknown faces.
Social psychology studies demonstrate that people, even children, are capable of acting in aggressive ways when identity is concealed. We cannot be held responsible if we cannot be seen doing it, cannot be held responsible if we are a face in the crowd. We see it all the time not just in sport aggression, but street riots after sports matches, as long as we cannot be seen we are invisible to the world. When we come across someone wearing a mask or a hat and scarf we cannot read that person, even more so if their eye are covered so fear developed in us and of course if we are wearing the same fear in our opposites, fear in the other fans who are just a mirror of our self. So picking up a rock, throwing it we have anonymity, who cares, lets fight.


5. Finally and most important is Social Contagion – We live our life in Social Contagion, its always part of what turns peaceful protest into violence and chaos, we did it as a child and your Father would scorn at you “If he jumped off a bridge would you do it also” and with enough encouragement and if enough of your peers did it then of course you will do it. Social Contagion is really great and you have witnessed and maybe taken part in the fun, a 'Mexican Wave' is Social Contagion you get the idea from one, then the other, then someone starts to shout “yeahhhhh” every one shouts “yeahhhhh” and your having a great time – The someone put a brick through a shop window and someone looks and then they do it and then another takes some stock out the window and you watch 5 people do it and then 10 and then you do and you have just found the evil side of Social Contagion, social behaviour. Outside the sports ground, someone jeers, “Ha Ha your team lost, they are crap, couldn't win if they played by themselves” then another starts yelling, someone pulls his scarf up around his face and throws a brick and then Social Contagion kicks in and the evil Mexican Wave has now begun and people may die.

So there is the bases of violence, the question was about football, but its not only football every sport has known violence on and off the pitch from when sport became a recorded game and the first recorded game was in Australia.
During a cricket match in 1879 when over 2000 fans invaded the pitch during a cricket match when an umpire dispute broke out between members of a English cricket team and and NSW Cricket Association, three fans where arrested

No offence, BUT, brevity IS the soul of wit; and the sooner you find this out, the more likely it is that people will read you in entirety.
Accept that the attention span of your average reader is no greater than the time it takes to make a (decent) cup of tea and you will succeed.
Other than that ... well done!

 

[Words]

I am a football fan and rarely is there trouble at matches i go to seems only happens when home nations play each other