Football hooliganism is a terrible thing. It's not big, it's not clever. Usually it's not even brave and no amount of books by blokes with stupid nicknames is ever going to make it so.
Generally it involves a group of men finding a smaller group of men, or a weaker group, or just an individual and picking a fight with them.
There can be no question that football in this country is so much the better without the violent excesses that surrounded the game in the 1970's and 80's.
When people moan about the lack of atmosphere and intensity generated nowadays in all seater stadiums this is to a large degree a valid complaint.
To some the "atmosphere" of the terraces meant having the opportunity to fight. That is the aspect of the 1970's and 80's we have to ensure never returns to our grounds.
It is impossible to completely remove aggressive behaviour and language from football grounds and that is right and proper.
Football is a physical, passionate game and even the most mild mannered supporter finds themselves getting caught up in events from time to time.
To many people who watch football their emotions are stretched to breaking point on a weekly basis.
In the efficiently and sensibly controlled stadiums that English football is now played in this is absolutely fine.
A few fans might go home offended by the behaviour, and more probably the language, of some of their own supporters but that is about as bad as it gets.
By knowing your own ground this is something that is reasonably easy to avoid as well.
Events this week have shown us that football hooliganism remains an issue, however, and the games involving Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in Europe brought ugly scenes to our tv screens once again.
It seems as though in both cases the English supporters feel the trouble which flared resulted in provocation from the other teams' fans and an over reaction from the local police.
It appears to me that there are two seperate conclusions and points to be made about the incidents of this week.
Firstly, serious investigation has to be made into violence in Italy.
The situation with Manchester United's fans in Rome this week is simply the latest in a long line of incidents involving English teams over the past 20 years or so.
They all have a disturbing trend.
In 1990 when the World Cup was held in Italy the English fans were placed in special fan sites wherever they went. These were basically giant camp sites.
There was, obviously, a huge police presence around these parks but the police only ever took any notice of what was going on inside the camp.
Any passing youths who wanted to throw things into the site hoping to connect with an English head were allowed to do so unchecked.
The police only seemed to think there was a problem to be dealt with if there was a reaction from within the camp. Then they felt compelled to administer some "justice".
There was one notable exception to this rule and that was when England had to go to Naples to play Belgium.
Apparently the people of Naples scarcely consider themselves Italian and from the moment the visiting fans entered the city and saw the huge banners proclaiming the cities' welcome for the English there was never a hint of any trouble.
From then on, however, travelling to the other parts of Italy has been a dangerous business for English fans.
When England qualified for the 1998 World Cup finals in Rome the riot police ringed the huge travelling support and did nothing while a barrage of missiles was hurled into it by the Italian fans.
As soon as there was a reaction, however, they steamed in waving their truncheons.
I mean, we call them truncheons but lets be fair, they're basically baseball bats.
This is exactly what happened in Rome the other night. The riot police are there in the United end letting the Roma fans pelt them with whatever they have brought in with them and at the first sign of a reaction they steam in.
In between times we have had Liverpool and Middlesbrough fans returning from visits to Italy with stab wounds.
I know our fans aren't shrinking violets and we have a dreadful past to live down but nothing excuses the treatment of our fans when they visit Italy nowadays.
You could even question whather all these riot policemen are genuine.
Depending on your viewpoint, it could even seem to be one big, organised racket.
"We'll put on the riot gear and the crash helmets and sit in their end with our baseball bats. You stand next to us with your scarves over your faces and throw anything you can get your hands on at them and if anyone of them object we'll beat the living shit out of them."
"And everyone will think it's their fault because we look like we're policemen."
The first thing to note is that the very presence of riot police makes the possibility of trouble far likelier.
There is immediately a tense atmosphere and it appears the average riot policemans' answer to every situation is to wade in baseball bat first.
UEFA make their usual excuses and say that the control of stadiums is up to the countries themselves but they cannot permit such ridiculous behaviour.
How can anybody be allowed to "control" a football crowd if they are going to completely ignore the actions of one set of fans and react with outrageous violence to any semblance of disquiet among the other?
If UEFA cannot impose their own will on how these teams control crowds they can certainly refuse them permission to play in their competitions.
They did it to us once, remember, and it was the best thing that ever happened to our game.
I would say it's time to start taking serious action against the Italians.
If it isn't their police with their bats it will be their fans with their knives and flares who are sooner or later going to kill someone unless action is taken.
And let's just get this straight. When our fans were wreaking havoc all over the place they didn't do it with weapons, they just went away fought.
These Italians would never get themselves into a situation where they just had to stand there and fight. They would run a mile.
They are a not a nation renowned for their cowardice for nothing.
One of the news channels had got an interview with one of Roma's supposed "Ultras".
He looked like an accountant with his specs peeking out above his frigging scarf and he told the guy interviewing him that "Outside the ground you can't do much but inside it's different."
What?
Anybody who really wanted to have a proper fight would tell you that outside the ground is where you might get one.
Away from the police, away from the security cameras, away from the barriers.
This says it all about Italians. More disturbingly it also shows that the people throwing the things at our fans and then standing there laughing as we get beaten up by the riot cops know that nothing is going to happen to them for their actions.
They can still go to the office the next day in their suit, tie and glasses and pretend they are real fighters.
Having said all this there is no point ignoring the fact that English football could easily slip back towards the dark days when violence at and around games was more to be expected than unexpected.
Tottenham's fans, by all accounts, were hardly blameless for the events that unfolded in Spain during their game with Sevilla and this comes shortly after the publicised "meet" with Chelsea after their recent cup tie at Stamford Bridge.
Clubs have a duty of care to ensure that hooliganism does not become a part of our football again.
Life bans must be imposed and enforced on people guilty of causing disturbances inside our grounds.
Issues such as racism, sexism, ageism; anything you care to think of that betrays intolerance, must be dealt with seriously and swiftly.
After all, it is perfectly possible to have a cracking atmosphere at a game, even one that is laced with hostility, without it ever going beyond the acceptable boundaries of partisan support.
As for the battle which Spurs and Chelsea fans apparently fought in an arranged spot I think that is fine.
If two sets of people do want to fight each other let them. Even provide them with places to do it so that members of the general public can't get caught up in them.
What shouldn't happen though is the police wasting time and money to break it up or even arrest those involved just as the health service shouldn't waste time and money treating any casualties.
If they want to fight let them and let them suffer the consequences.
After a while the problem would bring about its' own natural solution.
Source : http://www.football-england.com
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