Dont go to an English Soccer game if you want to feel Safe

[The Sushi Bandit]

Fans go bezerk at West Ham vs. Millwall game. Hunderds throw bottles and bricks outside and inside the venue. One man stabbed in chest.

What is wrong with these people? Is their life so sad and meaningless that their only excitement is to beat the crap out of fans from a different club? Is England becoming a "hooligan" country??

Full story here: http://current.com/items/90784174_dont-go-to-an-english-soccer-game-if-you-want-to-feel-safe.htm

[redqueen]

1. Oh bullshit.

This is not a common thing over there.

There were issues with it happening regularly in the past but that is very much not the case now.

[rcrush]

2. Yeah why cant they be well behaved like Laker fans?

[SoCalDem]

5. bwahahahaha.. large crowds + alcohol may be an issue too, no?

My son is a soccer nut, and he LOVED the European enthusiasm, but he's careful where he sits when he goes over there to watch:)

Said the Italian fans were the best & most fun:)

[Myrina]

3. ... oh yes, we're much more civilized over here ...

... why, look at the intellectual "Town Hall" discussions that have been going on over the summer all across America ...


:eyes:

[Ron Green]

4. I suggest that fear and addiction are natural human conditions,

fed by an untrammeled Free Market that exploits that fear. Violence is easy; peace is hard.

[maxsolomon]

6. Isn't Sky owned by Rupert Murdoch?

the FOX of Europe.

[endarkenment]

7. No such thing. They play Football. We play Soccer.

[musiclawyer]

8. ridiculous title

you have a greater chance of getting caught up in a scuffle at a championship celebration of any random championship team in any random town here in the USA than at any random footie game in the UK

[rurallib]

9. See - they don't have health care to fight over

[LeftishBrit]

10. This has been going on for decades here.

And how did I guess that Millwall fans in particular might be involved?! Not that the other teams' fans are much better. Football fans are a byward here for hooliganism. The violence deters genuine fans from attending the games.

[redqueen]

12. It's much less of a problem now than in the past.

I mostly see reports of fan violence when English fans travel to other countries for games.

And yes, Millwall has a reputation for this hooligan stuff... but you have to admit this is more reminescent of a bygone era than indicative of typical behavior these days.

[LeftishBrit]

30. True; it was probably at its worst in the 80s

Still not exactly wonderful, however.

Not restricted to Britain - you do get drunk fans getting nasty in a number of countries.

[Buzz Clik]

11. True enough! What's wrong with them! You wait till you win a championship to burn, loot, and riot.

Silly English.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

13. Read "Among the Thugs" by Bill Buford...........

It gives a real insight into the "soccer hooligan" mentality. Very interesting and disturbing read.

http://www.amazon.com/Among-Thugs-Bill-Buford/dp/0679745351/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251313841&sr=8-1

[enlightenment]

19. A more scholarly (and recent) take on it is

Football Hooligans: Knowing the Score (Explorations in Anthropology) (1998) by Gary Armstrong.

Gary is a Reader in the sociology of sport at Brunel. His latest book is on footie violence in Africa.

[monmouth]

14. I thought for a moment it was a townhall meeting....n/t

[The Sushi Bandit]

28. LOL..

[The Sushi Bandit]

29. LOL..

[flvegan]

15. In the US, we prefer our thugs ON the field earning millions to play.

Also, according to the article and related links, this violence wasn't exactly unplanned.

[Blue_Tires]

16. actually, England crowds have cleaned up their act for the most part

Eastern Europe and some places in South America have rowdier reputations now...

[percussivemadness]

17. stupid, inane generalization without actually using the correct name for the sport

say more about you than anything else...

[The Sushi Bandit]

27. Thanks!

I like the complement!

[TheMightyFavog]

18. West Ham vs. Millwall?

Those two teams are serious arch-rivals with a history of hooliganism.

[alcibiades_mystery]

24. Truly

It's like saying "Hey, the fans were pretty rough at Yankees-Red Sox game!" No shit. It's one of the biggest rivalries in the PL, with deep and long histories of hooliganism on both sides. The Millwall Brick, anyone?

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. You surely have missed the RIOTS we have had here

After years of EMS... I make a point to STAY AWAY from any stadium or sports venue anywhere in the world.

They can get nasty in a new york second.

[Jackeens]

21. I feel 100% safe at English football games....and I'm Irish!

But I'd never be stupid enough to go to a game between West Ham and Millwall - British National Front heaven. It had nothing to do with football, it was just a venue for thugs to fight, and I sincerely doubt the trouble-makers were genuine football fans. And remember, the main trouble took place outside the ground.

English football has cleaned up its act, nights like last night are very rare, and it's easy to spot the games to avoid. I've been at dozens of game the last few years and if there was even a hint of trouble the stewards and/or police removed the low lives immediately.

So, yeah, I feel 100% safe at these games :-)

[alcibiades_mystery]

26. ROFL

"But I'd never be stupid enough to go to a game between West Ham and Millwall..."

:thumbsup:

[WillieW]

22. Europeans are very passionate about their soccer!

[alcibiades_mystery]

23. West Ham and Millwall had some of the most notorious hooligans

in the whole sordid history of English football hooliganism. It's a tradition to this day in those areas of London.

[muriel_volestrangler]

31. History between the two detailed here - strikes, gangsters, it has the lot

At start of the 1906/07 season, a particularly ferocious encounter saw one player hurled against a metal advertising board. Millwall finished the game with only nine men, after the others were stretchered off following heavy tackles.

The East Ham Echo reported: "From the very first kick it was seen that there was likely to be some trouble. All attempts at football were ignored." The supporters were also criticised for fighting each other in the stands.

In 1926, when tough economic times were taking their toll on the docks, the rivalry turned nasty. The General Strike of that year was observed by workers in the East End, who were mainly West Ham supporters, but the Millwall-supporting shipyard workers of the Isle of Dogs refused to lend their support, provoking mass outrage.
...
In the 1960s, the two sides were again divided, this time by the arrival of London's two most notorious gangster families, the Krays and the Richardsons. The former were born and bred in the East End and supported West Ham, the latter were from south of the river and followed Millwall.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/a-rivalry-that-dates-back-to-the-heyday-of-british-shipbuilding-1777732.html

[Captain Hilts]

25. This kind of thing doesn't happen nearly so often any more. A ballgame in Philly is just as bad. nt