12/21/24
August 23, 2010
The Hooligan Problem and the Football Violence That Just Won't Go Away.: The hooligan problem and the football violence that just won't go away. They hunt in packs, fuelled by cocaine, hooked on violence and occasionally wielding chains. Some are as old as 65. They use mobile phones and the internet to arrange showdowns with rival "firms" at agreed locations away from prying CCTV cameras and police surveillance. This is the profile of the 21st-century football hooligan, a breed of "fan" who, although decreasing in numbers and visibility, is recognised by the football authorities and police as never having gone away. (via MetaFilter).
As long as they're fighting with other like minded folks, who cares?
posted by StarFucker at 01:41 AM on August 24, 2010
As long as they keep it away from the stadium and the pubs, it seems a lot less harmful than a lot of other (legal) activities I can think of.
posted by owlhouse at 02:56 AM on August 24, 2010
Yeah, firm-on-firm doesn't bother me so much: it's not really comparable any more to the situation in other countries where the violent ultras have the power to intimidate and even dictate terms to the clubs.
That's not to say that some English league clubs are behind others -- Leeds, Millwall, Swansea, even "glamour club" Chelsea have endemic problems -- but it's not the 1980s any more.
posted by etagloh at 12:59 PM on August 24, 2010
What exactly is a football intelligence officer and how much power does he wield? The article gave me a gist of the idea but I'd love a further explanation.