Football hooliganism has, thankfully, not been a problem in our country for some years now. Unfortunately, there is still the odd occasion (Milwall at last year’s FA Cup semi-final, for example) but on the whole it is generally quite a safe experience going to a football match these days.
We should count ourselves lucky because in other countries hooliganism is a real problem. In Argentina the Boca Juniors Ultras are a dangerous bunch who don’t think twice when it comes to physical violence.
I recently read a news story about the Brazilian lower leagues in which a referee was beheaded because he gave a decision against one of the teams. Imagine that happening in England? We all get pretty passionate about our football but to resort to such acts of barbaric violence is little over the top to say the least.
That’s not to say us Europeans can’t get a little rowdy from time to time; take this clip from Sweden where the fans decide that on their way out from the game they won’t be told what to do by the police. They start giving them verbal abuse, making all sorts of obscene gestures in their direction as well as spitting on them.
The police, deciding that they won’t stand for such behaviour, feel the best way to deal with the hooligans is speed up the elevator that they are all on until they all reach the floor in a disgruntled angry heap.
Is this the best way to deal with such silly behaviour? I’ll let you be the judge of that but let’s all agree that it is very funny clip.