Soccer Hooligans
The Dark Side Of Soccer
Soccer riots have always been something of a mystery. The violence in hockey is at least reconcilable. Grown men in heavy outfits skating at high speeds with sharp blades on their feet create enough tension and energy to start a brawl in a hurry. In baseball, a hard leather ball thrown 100 mph at your head can understandably make you want to charge the mound. But soccer? Even the game happens at a slow pace and hardly inspires more than focused concentration on the field itself. American commentators jokingly portray the reason for soccer riots as its low-scoring low key nature. They often say “after paying almost $100 for seats and fighting the crowds to see two teams play an entire match an end in a 0-0 tie, you might riot too.” However, to the rest of the world, soccer riots are no laughing matter.
People die
Deaths from soccer riots happen around the globe. They have been recorded in Germany, England Greece, Spain, South Africa, Italy and Latin America. In 2001, a soccer riot in Ghana claimed the lives of 138 people. While it is in our human nature to have a visceral response and succumb to mob mentality the fact that any fan would be killed simply watching a soccer game is tragedy at its height. All sports should make players and fans more noble, and more a part of the tapestry of humanity. Loss of life at a soccer game shows how truly far we have fallen from our ability to connect with one another.
Politics enter
What distinguishes soccer from many other sports is its international acclaim. Soccer isn’t a property of any one country, people, or race but is an international phenomenon, encompassing a diversity of people, ideas and landscapes. Because of the vast diversity of participants in the game, world politics often play an unfortunate part in soccer rioting. When countries become enemies or evoke different political positions the residents often let the soccer team play out their frustration. This creates an angry energy and misdirection from the good of the sport to the violence in the stands. A soccer riot at a game between Iran and Japan was said to be motivated by protesters fed up with Iran’s gender rights violence. The erupting riot left three dead. In 2004 a soccer riot in Rome was planned to protest the government’s spending in regard to education and sports. When the tension of the world around invades the field of sport, everybody loses.
Antisocial behavior
Unfortunately, soccer seems unable to separate itself from its reputation as a riotous adventure. This draws fans wanting to be part of the mob mentality and creates an atmosphere of antisocial and anti-authority behavior. The number one casualty of any soccer riot is generally the police or authorities who have come to maintain order in and around the stadium. Gangs of young people calling themselves “soccer hooligans” have purposely begun to infiltrate the world of soccer to spread their own brand of antiauthoritarian violence.
The Olympian model of athletic competition put forth that when individuals and teams compete at the best of their ability all of society is a nurtured and inspired by their progress. Soccer rioting has the opposite effect on the sport as a whole and harms the common good.
About the Author
James Brown writes about Evans Cycles bargains, Freestylextreme coupon codes and uksoccershop.com on-line coupons
Soccer Hooligan Mayhem
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Hooligans & Thugs Soccer’s Most Violent Fan Fights [VHS] $12.98 … |
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Soccer Hooligans $8.91 … |
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Soccer Fan – 24H x 16W – Peel and Stick Wall Decal by Wallmonkeys $33.99 WallMonkeys wall graphics are printed on the highest quality re-positionable, self-adhesive fabric paper. Each order is printed in-house and on-demand. WallMonkeys uses premium materials & state-of-the-art production technologies. Our white fabric material is superior to vinyl decals. You can literally see and feel the difference. Our wall graphics apply in minutes and won’t damage your paint or l… |
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Praying Soccer Fan – 24H x 17W – Peel and Stick Wall Decal by Wallmonkeys $33.99 WallMonkeys wall graphics are printed on the highest quality re-positionable, self-adhesive fabric paper. Each order is printed in-house and on-demand. WallMonkeys uses premium materials & state-of-the-art production technologies. Our white fabric material is superior to vinyl decals. You can literally see and feel the difference. Our wall graphics apply in minutes and won’t damage your paint or l… |
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Green Street Hooligans $3.03 After getting unjustly expelled from Harvard, an aspiring journalist moves to London to live with his sister and brother-in-law. Quickly, he makes friends with a group of violent soccer fans he encounters. But when he becomes desensitized to their brutal ways, he learns the cost of taking sports fandom to the extreme. Riveting drama stars Elijah Wood, Charlie Hunnam, Claire Forlani. AKA: “Green St… |
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Hooligans & Thugs – Soccer’s Most Violent Fan Fights $17.98 … |
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Green Street Hooligans 2 (Region B/2 Blu-Ray import) $29.99 BLU-RAY Region B UK Import – WHICH MAY NOT PLAY ON STANDARD US PLAYER… |
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River City Soccer Hooligans $23.99 GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAL! Join Kunio and the gang in River City Soccer Hooligans as they go head to head with the world s soccer elite to win the World Soccer Championship! Shoot pass and attack the petition! Key Features: Fight to the finish! Challenge the world s best soccer teams! Select your matches from 12 opposing teams from around the world. As Captain Kunio you can strategize by changing your form… |
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Chelsea FC Training Shirt This official Chelsea FC training shirt has the club crest printed on the front and is available for immediate delivery. Code: CFC TR01 WHT 100% polyester and an official Chelsea FC product. Colour: W… |
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Heat: An Amateur Cook in a Professional Kitchen $14.99 After spending late nights with British soccer hooligans in Among the Thugs, New Yorker writer Bill Buford now turns to the company of famous chefs and Italian butchers. To learn what “kitchen slaves” really experience, he signed up for a total-immersion apprenticeship with gastronomic superstar Mario Batali. In this briskly paced narrative, Buford takes us behind the swinging doors into Babbo’s kitchen; then departs on a transatlantic hunt for secrets about pasta; culinary training; fine cuts of meat; and exquisite gradations of ingredients. |
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Heat: An Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany $16 After spending late nights with British soccer hooligans in Among the Thugs, New Yorker writer Bill Buford now turns to the company of famous chefs and Italian butchers. To learn what “kitchen slaves” really experience, he signed up for a total-immersion apprenticeship with gastronomic superstar Mario Batali. In this briskly paced narrative, Buford takes us behind the swinging doors into Babbo’s kitchen; then departs on a transatlantic hunt for secrets about pasta; culinary training; fine cuts of meat; and exquisite gradations of ingredients. |
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March of the Hooligans: Soccer’s Bloody Fraternity (Next Stop: America) $16.95 Apparently, football hooliganism has been around since the Middle Ages: In 1314, Edward I banned the sport because of the disorderliness it seemed to generate. From that dark beginning, European soccer misbehavior has only blossomed. Nobody knows this better than Dougie Brimson, a former hooligan who has become the U.K.’s most respected authority on this rampant mass misbehavior. In March of the Hooligans, he describes the trampling effect of fan gangs on the Other Side of the Pond and explains why North America might be their next stop. |
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Sport Ethics: Concepts and Cases in Sport and Recreation $29.95 Sport has always presented participants, administrators and observers with a wide and often bizarre array of ethical dilemmas. They take on a special edge, perhaps because the sport personalities are usually well known as are result of the extensive media coverage of sporting events. We look in astonishment and horror at such things as the judging debacle in the pairs figure-skating event at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, the not-too-distant future possibility of genetically modified athletes, the bribe taking by members of the IOC, the widespread steroid use by athletes, the child sex-abuse cases in hockey, the acceptance of physical assault and violence, the hooligans among British soccer fans, and the drug abusers at the Tour de France. This revised and expanded edition is designed to provide an analytical framework to enable readers to explore and understand many of the ethical issues and controversies in sport today. Included for discussion purposes are topical case studies drawn from the world of sport and recreation. |
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Sport Ethics: Concepts and Cases in Sport and Recreation $29.95 Sport has always presented participants, administrators and observers with a wide and often bizarre array of ethical dilemmas. They take on a special edge, perhaps because the sport personalities are usually well known as are result of the extensive media coverage of sporting events. We look in astonishment and horror at such things as the judging debacle in the pairs figure-skating event at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, the not-too-distant future possibility of genetically modified athletes, the bribe taking by members of the IOC, the widespread steroid use by athletes, the child sex-abuse cases in hockey, the acceptance of physical assault and violence, the hooligans among British soccer fans, and the drug abusers at the Tour de France. This revised and expanded edition is designed to provide an analytical framework to enable readers to explore and understand many of the ethical issues and controversies in sport today. Included for discussion purposes are topical case studies drawn from the world of sport and recreation. |
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The Glorious World Cup: A Fanatic’s Guide $12 Designed for “those who like their soccer with a side of kick ass,” this inexpensive entry contains player profiles; villains, heroes, hooligans, and hard men; on-field glory and off-field indiscretions; underdogs, overachievers, maniacs, and miracles; and, not least, expert commentary. |
