The dark side of sport.
Violence by supporters of sports teams dates back to Roman times, when supporters of chariot racing teams were frequently involved in major riots.
British fanatical supporters are called hoooligans. Hooliganism refers to unruly, destructive, aggressive and bullying behaviour. Such behaviour is commonly associated with sports fans, particularly supporters of association football. The term can also apply to general rowdy behaviour and vandalism, often under the influence of alcohol and or drugs.
The word hooligan derives from a Patrick Hooligan, a small-time bouncer and thief, who lived in the Borough, on the south side of the river. With his family and a small gang of followers he frequented the Lamb and Flag public house in Southwark. Mr Hooligan murdered a policeman, was put away for life and died in prison.
The actions of English football hooligans and firms in the 1980s caused English teams to be banned from European competition for six years after the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985. Although the level of football-related violence was significantly reduced in England after this event, in the recent Euro 2004 tournament, England were publicly warned that any violence by supporters at matches could result in their ejection from the tournament. Many known hooligans were prevented from traveling to the tournament in Portugal. There was a collective sigh of relief from security experts in the USA when England failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup
The Heysel Stadium disaster occurred on 29 May 1985 when a masonry wall failed then collapsed under the pressure of escaping fans in the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, as a result of rioting before the start of the 1985 European Cup Final between Liverpool of England and Juventus of Italy. 39 people died, 32 of them Juventus fans, and 600 were injured. Approximately one hour before the Liverpool-Juventus final was due to kick off, a large group of Liverpool fans breached a fence separating them from rival Juventus fans. The Juventus fans ran back and away from the threat into a concrete retaining wall. Fans already seated near the wall were crushed; eventually the wall collapsed. Many people climbed over to safety, but many others died or were badly injured. The game was played despite the disaster in order to prevent further violence. The tragedy resulted in all English football clubs being placed under an indefinite ban by UEFA from all European competitions (lifted in 1990-91), with Liverpool being excluded for an additional year and a number of Liverpool fans prosecuted for manslaughter. The disaster was later described as "the darkest hour in the history of the UEFA competitions."
Tifo, originally the Italian word for the phenomenon of supporting a sport team, is mostly used as a name for any spectacular choreography displayed by supporters on the terraces of an arena or stadium in connection with a sport event, mostly an association football match.
Tifos are most commonly seen in important matches, local derbies and rivalries and although the tradition originated at club teams, some national teams also have fans that organize tifos on a regular basis.[1] Tifos are primarily arranged by Ultras or a supporter club to show their love to the club, but are sometimes sponsored or arranged by the club itself.
Materials used to create tifos include:
large flags and banners
huge painted blankets (usually in the shape of a team jersey or flag)
two-stick flags
confetti
balloons
paper rolls
large dolls and mascots
scarves
The tifo is often displayed for only a few minutes, often when the teams enter the pitch or at the start of the match. Planning a tifo can range large ones from taking several weeks, and several days before the match to prepare, costing large sums of money, to smaller tifos where the supporters hold up their scarves at a certain time and throwing confetti in the air, taking only a few minutes to prepare.
Ultras are a type of sports fans renowned for their fanatical support and elaborate displays. They are predominantly European followers of football teams. The behavioral tendency of ultras groups includes the use of flares (primarily in tifo choreography), vocal support in large groups and the displaying of banners at football stadiums, all of which are designed to create an atmosphere which encourages their own team and intimidates opposing players and supporters.
The actions of ultras groups can occasionally be overly extreme and are sometimes influenced by political ideologies or racism, in some instances to the point where the central ideology of the ultras phenomenon, passionate and loyal support of your team, becomes a sideshow. In recent decades, the culture has become a focal point for the movement against the commercialization of sports and football in particular. The term, also used of extremists in other fields, is derived from the Latin ultrā, meaning beyond, with the implication that their enthusiasm is 'beyond' the normal
Ultra groups are usually based around a core group (who tend to have executive control over the whole group), with smaller subgroups organized by location, friendship or political stance. Ultras tend to use various styles and sizes of banners and flags with the name and symbols of the group. Some ultra groups sell their own merchandise such as scarves, hats and jackets. The ultra culture is a mix of several supporting styles, such as scarf-waving and chanting. An ultra group can number from a handful of fans to hundreds, and often claim entire sections of a stadium for themselves.
The four core points of the ultra mentality[2] are:
never stop singing or chanting during a match, no matter what the result
never sit down during a match
attend as many games as possible (home and away), regardless of cost or distance
Ultra groups usually have a representative who liaises with the club owners on a regular basis, mostly regarding tickets, seat allocations and storage facilities. Some clubs provide the groups cheaper tickets, storage rooms for flags and banners, and early access to the stadium before matches in order to prepare the displays. Some non-ultras have criticized these types of favoured relationship. Some spectators criticize ultras for never sitting during matches and for displaying banners and flags, which hinder the view of those sitting behind. Others criticize ultras for physical assaults or intimidation of non-ultra fans.
Match day
Before big matches, most ultra groups choreograph a large display, (sometimes known as Tifo) for when the teams enter. Ranging in size, based on financial capabilities of the group, the tifo has been displayed just in the section of the stadium where the group is located or the entire stadium. Sometimes small sheets of plastic or paper are held aloft to form a pattern or to colour the stadium. Other materials used include balloons, streamers, huge banners, flares, smoke bombs, and more recently, giant dolls (as used by Sampdoria's ultras in 2002). Popular culture icons are often used on banners, such as Alex DeLarge (from the movie A Clockwork Orange), bulldogs, or Che Guevara.Corporate brand logos and catchphrases are also often used. The displays, which can be expensive to make, often take months to prepare.
Generally, ultra' groups, particularly in Italy, have animosity toward so-called modern football, which refers to all-seater stadiums, more expensive tickets, matches being played at non-traditional times (particularly evening matches), players being bought and sold like merchandise, and the excessive commercialization of football in general. Banners stating "Contro Il Calcio Moderno" (Against modern football) or simply "No Al Calcio Moderno" (No to modern football) are commonly seen in Italian stadiums, and have also appeared in other parts of Europe. A common English language equivalent, seen on banners and flags in stadiums across the United Kingdom, is the phrase "Love Football, Hate Business".
Ultra groups tend to be highly vocal at matches, with each group having several football chants. The melodies are mostly taken from popular songs, such as "Guantanamera" and "7 Nation Army". Other popular songs, sung in their entirety include "Bella Ciao" and "ACAB (All Cops Are Bastards)". In most cases, a group leader, often using a megaphone, coordinates the various activities of the entire group, including chants, songs, and banner drops. Fanzines and websites play a big part in the ultra movement. As printing costs decrease and publishing software improves, fanzines have become increasingly more professional-looking.
Hooliganism
Although ultra groups can become violent, the vast majority of matches go ahead with no violent incidents. Unlike hooligan firms, whose main aim is to fight fans of other clubs, the main focus of ultras is to support their own team. Hooligans usually try to be inconspicuous when they travel; usually not wearing team colours, in order to avoid detection by the police. Ultras tend to be more conspicuous when they travel and like to arrive en masse, which allows the police to keep a close eye on their movements. When trouble involving ultras does break out, it usually takes the form of a political riot similar to the ones in Italy in the 1970s when the Carabinieri used the same tactics with the ultras as they did with the political activists.
However, there does appear to be a crossover in some countries between ultras and hooligans. In Italy, when English club Middlesbrough F.C. played a match against AS Roma in March 2006, three Middlesbrough fans were stabbed in an attack that was blamed on Roma-supporting ultras.[3] Roma-supporting ultras were also blamed for an incident related to the club's match against English club Manchester United in Rome in April 2007, which resulted in 11 Manchester fans and two Italian fans being taken to hospital.[4] These specific incidents may be attributed to an anti-English mindset amongst some Roma fans that dates back to the 1984 European Cup final. Spanish authorities have been concerned about ultra-related violence against supporters of other clubs, such as the murder of a Real Sociedad fan, by the Atletico Madrid ultras Frente Atletico.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71aNIy9qg1c&feature=related
POLAND
Football is the most popular sport in Poland. Over 400,000 Poles play football regularly, with millions more playing occasionally. The first professional clubs were founded in the early 1900s, and the Polish national football team played its first international match in 1921.
There are hundreds of professional and amateur football teams in Poland; which are organized into the national 1st league, 2nd league, 4 regional 3rd leagues, 18 regional 4th leagues, 49 regional 5th leagues and a variety of other lower level leagues. Additionally, there are the Polish Cup and Polish Supercup competitions.
Football hooliganism in Poland first developed as a recognised phenomenon in the 1970s, and has continued since then with numerous recognised hooligan firms and large-scale fights. Until 1997, the number of hooligan- related incidents steadily rose in Poland.[1] The problem of hooliganism in Poland has been compared to what are described as the dark days of football hooliganism in England in the 1980s.[2] Hooliganism in Poland is comparable in its scale to countries such as Turkey.[3] Many Polish football clubs have hooligan firms associated with them, and Polish hooligans have a reputation for being extremely violent.[4] The most violent confrontations between firms occurs in Kraków, where the firms of Cracovia Kraków and Wisła Kraków wage a brutal war, using knives, axes and other weapons. There have been several fatalities. Some Polish hooligans are accused of encouraging nationalism and racism among fans.[1]
Hooligan firms in Poland seem to be organised quite formally, and are influenced by the skinhead subculture. Some skinhead members of firms are described as "official hooligans", and their role is to take part in disturbances at the stadiums.[1] They often use weapons, such as wooden sticks, bats, baseball bats and knives.
2000 onward
Even though the Polish government tried to erase hooliganism, incidents were still common in Polish stadiums. However, like hooligans in Western Europe, Polish firms now pre-arrange their fights, which in Poland are known as ustawka, and are mainly fought in forests. In December 2005 a huge organised fight took place in a forest outside Frankfurt between Polish and German hooligans. Although the fight was broken up by German police, it was feared that the fight was a warm up for more fights during the World Cup which was to be held in Germany the next year.[2]
In March 2006 a Wisła Kraków fan was dragged from a car and stabbed to death, the eighth stabbing murder in twelve months of football hooligans in Poland.[2]
Football violence is still present even in city centres. In May 2006 over 50 police officers were injured, with over 30 hospitalised and 230 hooligans detained after disturbances in Warsaw following a match between Legia Warsaw and Wisła Kraków. Thousands of Legia fans had converged in the city centre celebrating the club winning the Polish League title, where they broke into shops, damaged cafes and restaurants and attacked the police with stones. The police had to use water cannons to contain the hooligans.[8]
Before the 2006 World Cup in Germany, German authorities and the European media were concerned that Polish hooligans would try to disrupt the tournament.[2] Reports stated that Polish hooligans were ready to do battle with fans from England and other countries in Germany.[9] However, no major incidents were reported, with isolated clashes taking place such as drunken German and Polish fans clashing in Dortmund resulting in 300 arrests, half of whom were Polish.[10]
It was stated in 2006 that the current football hooliganism in Poland is far worse than the dark days of English football hooliganism in the 1980s, with nearly every Polish professional football club having a fan base rooted in hooliganism.[9] A match between local Warsaw rivals, Polonia and Legia in April 2006 saw over 1,300 riot police, armed with CS gas and rifles with rubber bullets fail to control 3,000 fans. Instead of keeping the two sets of fans apart, the police shepherded them all into the city centre where running battles ensued.[9] A common feature of Polish hooligans is also ambushing rival fans then stealing their scarves and flags, before tieing them to railings in the stadium and set on fire.[9]
In July 2007, UEFA banned Legia Warsaw from European competition for one season and also for one more season should they qualify for any European competition in the following five years, following riots during an Intertoto Cup match in Lithuania against Vetra Vilnius forced the game to be abandoned. With Vetra Vilnius winning 2-0 at half time, several hundred Legia fans, out of the 2,500 Polish fans present, wrecked the stand they were in and invaded the pitch, where they attacked 200 police officers, throwing concrete, bottles and flares at them. They then ripped up advertising boards in an attempt to prevent the mounted police, tear gas and baton charges by the police. A total of 26 Legia fans were arrested, with ten later released. Seven fans were later jailed for between five and fifteen days and fined.
In September 2007, Wisła Kraków hooligans killed a Korona Kielce fan in Kielce. The Korona Kielce firm is allied with Cracovia.
http://lublin.gazeta.pl/lublin/10,88278,6649152,ustawka.html