Football Hooliganism, Policing and the War on the English Disease

"Football Hooliganism is about the behaviour of English football fans abroad. On the domestic front there has been less of a concern than there was in the 1970s and 80s, but there is now a worry about the allegedly disreputable behaviour of British fans abroad. These two very well-regarded social psychologists, Clifford Stott and Geoff Pearson, have actually gone and studied these events first hand, and they take exception to the idea that the use of banning orders was an effective deterrent. They argue that the behaviour of the police in various countries affects the behaviour of football fans. They use a ‘social identity’ approach, which in essence is the idea that if the police are seen to go in illegitimately then this causes a common identification and a shared fate among the crowd, who are apt to respond in unison. Pearson and Stott found that one of the problems is that police behaviour is often indiscriminate and unnecessary. They say that football supporters by and large go away to have a good time. Sure, they stretch the norms of customary behaviour – they can be boisterous and offensive. They suggest that the police understand and show tolerance of this. If the police need to intervene, it has got to be done in a clearly communicated way, in which they strive to facilitate the aims of the fans in another way. A final watchword they use is ‘differentiation’. If someone is a legitimate target for arrest and they really are up to no good, then everyone will be able to see that and the crowd will generally support the police."