Fan Perspectives of Football Hooliganism

Football hooliganism has been prevalent in almost
every country where the game is played. This has
particularly been the case in Britain, where the
phenomenon has produced consequences of varying
degrees of severity. Many academic investigations
have examined the problem by gauging opinions of
hooligans and to a lesser extent, the police. The
perspectives of the non-violent majority of
supporters have been consistently overlooked, yet
they often share the same space, rituals and social
characteristics as hooligans, and also witness
football violence and the processes that instigate
and escalate it. This work therefore involved
ascertaining the views of non-hooligan supporters
who regularly attend matches from eight British
teams. This book examines a plethora of related
literature and the methodological implications of
researching football fandom. Accessing the
previously underrepresented perspectives of key fan
bases, this work also addresses supporter attitudes
towards definitional issues, the severity and causes
of the problem, media representation, and the socio-
legal and socio-political responses to British
football hooliganism.