"We're British and we're hard!" Liam Gallagher once growled at a Vancouver audience who had felt compelled to pelt members of Oasis with a variety of coins, lighters and other small projectiles. I think, therefore I am. We're British and we're hard. As the words echo in my mind, I can't help but picture a tattoo's for warmth beer swilling Brit, hurling a patio chair across a picturesque Copenhagen courtyard at a gaggle of Turkish supporters. We're British and we're hard could easily serve as the calling card for England's most successful export: Football Hooligans.
Hooligans, particularly for the North American audience, represent a key facet of modern football. Very rarely does a news outlet such as the CBC carry the latest English Premier League high lights, but you can be quite sure that if an incident of violence has accompanied a match, Peter Mansbridge will be mincing more then a few words. The hooligan has become such an integral part of the modern game's image, that books written by former thugs and films documenting and glorifying their exploits are widely available. But what of the thug? From where did this hooligan element surface.
Many would argue that hooliganism has always existed. The inception of rival football clubs simply allowed young men of opposing social standing to further differentiate one another. "He supports who?" It would be very difficult to try and pick a point in time when the hooligan emerged. Trouble between opposing fans has been documented throughout the last 100 years. However, there was a time when suddenly the violence that manifested itself at matches became calculated. Soon individuals were planning trouble and actively seeking one another out. This was 1980's Britain, the high point of hooliganism thus far: A period when the English thugs were by far the most 'productive' in Europe.
It is of course important to note that hooligan should by no means be considered as synonymous with British. Hooligan elements exist throughout Europe and probably the world. You have 'ultras' in Spain, the 'fiasoto' in Italy and 'fanaty' in Russia. However, beyond all efforts to deny it, because of the 1980's, the English are certainly the most notorious. Travelling English fans left a wake of destruction across Europe and did little for their own country on any given Saturday. Opposing fans, innocent by standers, restaurant windows and 'bobbies' were all favorite targets as groups of young men made a mad rush to get the 'aggro.' It seems absurd that what amounted to such a small section of supporters could cause so much harm not only to life and limb, but also to the sports eternal image. The damage of the eighties will forever be a black mark on the sport and the draconian measures adopted to eradicate violence from the game will serve as a constant reminder of the depths people once sank.
Some twenty years ago, a match at an English ground was far less then enjoyable for a family or any mild mannered supporter. For anyone who has watched recent games, the beautiful full seating, open stands where merely an idea lost somewhere in More's Utopia. Instead fans found themselves caged in like ferocious animals and they did much to warrant this fencing. Stadiums consisted mainly of terracing; no seats, simply general admission, standing room only. The 'terraces' became piss-ridden garbage heaps, as drunken skinheads, mods and generic footy fans crammed themselves in to catch the action. Like taking the tube in London, a fan had little control over where he was to go next. The movement of the crowd decided everything for you. But you'd better be ready for the mad rush if your team managed a goal. A push to the front fences, as a wave of supporters lost control, falling over one another and trampling flailing limbs. Among the least appealing aspects for any level headed onlooker was the overt racism. Black players from either team were subjected to a torrent of abuse from both sets of supporters. Fans grunted like gorillas as the likes of John Barnes and John Fasahnu outwitted defenders with their silky skills and it wasn't below many to hurl bananas onto the field to drive home their point.
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