Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

Football Hooliganism: The Italian Connection

“You stand your ground and fight.”

A famous line from Green Street, a 2005 independent drama film about football hooliganism. Directed by Lexi Alexander, the violent depiction stars Elijah Wood, a man not exactly associated with aggressive roles.

Appropriately labelled the beautiful game, football possesses an ugly, extremely ominous side. A cancer of sorts, hooliganism has gradually eaten away at the sport’s very core. Even in this modern era of equal rights and ‘compassionate consideration’, bitterness between rival fans has not abated. An untamed animosity that is as prevalent as it is ferocious, hooliganism has ensured that riot police are a regular fixture at numerous games around the globe.

Although the 1980’s saw hooliganism escalate in severity, the phenomenon’s roots can be found in 14th-century England. In 1314, seen as an undisciplined, chaotic activity, Edward II banned football. Perhaps it had something to do with rival villagers volleying a pig’s bladder around the cobbled streets.

In more modern footballing terms, the 1880s brought with it the first recorded instances of football hooliganism. Along with poverty and horrible weather, decent English folk now lived in an era where gangs regularly attacked referees, opposing supporters and players.

In the 20th century, largely due to the re-emergence of violence in Latin American football, the phenomenon started to grab international attention. While this delinquent behaviour was poisoning local football in Mexico and Argentina, incidents of hooliganism were rapidly escalating in Europe, so much so that the 1960’s saw English media introduce the term “football hooliganism”.

Rightly condemned for lumping us with the likes of Piers Morgan and Margaret Thatcher, the English can also take blame for the introduction of this premeditated violent behaviour. England invented football in the mid-19th century, but they can also be credited for ‘inventing’ football hooliganism, the very poison that often sullies our beloved game. Hopefully the irony in that sentence did not go unnoticed.

In 2014, unfortunately, the proverbial plague has spread to all corners of the globe. Numerous clubs now have “firms” or “ultras;” gangs of fanatics with a tribal, borderline animalistic mentality.

For now, we shall focus on the plague that has poisoned the Italian football scene.

Lazio’s “ultra” fans are as organized as they are hostile. The club, founded in 1900 by army officers, is steeped in a legacy of military connections. Displaying an eagle, the club’s logo is actually a fascist icon, a symbol that pays homage to both the Nazis and the Brownshirts of Italy.

Remember that salute performed by Paolo Di Canio? This ‘performance’ recalled the days of Benito Mussolini, the infamous dictator who enforced Adolf Hitler’s racial laws right across his homeland. .

Initially attracted to the club by a legendary striker named Silvia Piola, Mussolini was a regular on the terraces. So enthused by Piola and his teammates’, the wartime dictator built the Stadio Olimpico, the stadium that still hosts games to this very day.

The Ultras, in particular, are a fascinating group. Besides being renowned for their hyper-fanatical support, often to the point of violence and spiteful, unwarranted chants, they are especially influential within North African and European footballing realms.

From a psychological perspective, their behavioural tendencies tend to nurture an atmosphere which largely manifests through the intimidation of opposing players and supporters.

As previously noted, the actions of ultras are quite often extreme, regularly influenced by political ideologies or racial beliefs. With such primitive foundations for hatred and biased desires, it is no surprise that football often finds itself in the passenger seat as theoretical ideologies reign supreme.

Cast your minds back to 2014’s Coppa Italia final between Napoli and Fiorentina. The event, which was held at the aforementioned Stadio Olimpico in Rome,  brought with it some of the worst pre-match violence in recent history. Although Napoli beat Fiorentina 3-1 to take the cup, the match was delayed for 45 minutes because of violent conduct on the streets.

This brainless brutality saw three Napoli fans hospitalized with gunshot wounds. In one of many moving moments, Marek Hamsik, Napoli’s enigmatic attacker, actually approached and spoke with a representative of his side’s “ultras”. Eventually, after this bold and brave move by the player, the match actually went ahead.

Who exactly did Hamsik speak with? His name is Gennaro De Tommaso, a man affectionately known as Genny ‘a carogna (Genny the swine). De Tommaso, a heavily extensively tattooed individual, was filmed wearing a very explicit T-shirt, one that demanded the release of a convicted cop-killer.

Before the kick off, in true ‘Green Street’ fashion, both sets of fans fought with each other, many of whom were masked and carrying knives

Daniele De Santis, another unsavoury character, is the leader of Roma’s Ultras. In 2004, De Santis was the main man responsible for intimidating Roma captain Francesco Totti into calling off a Rome derby.

In May of 2014, at the aforementioned Copa Italia final, De Santis reportedly shot one of the Napoli fans.

Ten years on from the Totti incident, it’s safe to say that Italian football has failed in its attempt to overpower football hooliganism.

 

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