The word hooligan has an uncertain origin. According to the Oxford dictionary of English, this term may be related to the surname ( Hoolihan) of a bitter Irish character who was the protagonist of a series of comic strips in a British newspaper or the surname of Patrick Hoolihan, a prominent thief Irish of the time, among other possible origins.
Football and violence
Since its emergence, when villagers from the medieval era still gathered in commemorative times to have fun kicking a ball made from an inflated pig’s bladder, football and the widespread fights around this sport shared the same context. From 1890, these conflicts started to be identified as hooliganism.
Appearing in the 13th century, in England, football was an event that brought together different families from neighboring lands and commonly became a semi-legitimate way to resolve disputes that could be related to land disputes or tribal aggressions. Events involving football in the medieval period occurred in parallel with commemorative dates, and abuse of alcoholic beverages was common, which ended, in most cases, with injured or even fatal victims. Violence was tolerated, being seen as a natural behavior of sport participants.
However, as of the 14th century, football, which had grown in numbers of players, began to suffer attempts to control it. The violent sport, which was now practiced in the new cities that appeared next to markets, brought confusion and terror to buyers and merchants, which was not good for business. Cases of looting and widespread violence were also not uncommon and, from that point on, violence started to be combated, but without much success.
It was only in the 17th century that football, after a strong education campaign aimed at children who also participated in the violent matches, came to be governed by rules and regulations guided by “chivalry” and the sporting spirit. However, although “sanitized”, the sport’s environment was still permeated by airs of strong disputes.
Having spread throughout Europe between the 18th and 19th centuries, football became a continental passion in which rival teams faced each other in front of large audiences. The rivalry between fans was generally associated with social position and was as visible at that time as class divisions. In Nordic countries, such as Switzerland, although chivalry, inspired by British ideals, was the behavior in vogue, the segregation between the working class and the more affluent was clear and gaudy among the crowd. The demonstrations of revolt when the events occurred came to be feared by the authorities, who saw the possibility of a football match becoming the trigger for a mass revolt, but with other social motivations.
Don’t stop now … There’s more after the publicity;)
Violence in organized fans
The clash of fans is commonly attributed to hooligans *
The segregation by classes that occurred in the previous fans was established in another way since 1960. The resurgence of a feeling of patriotism and xenophobia invaded the sports environment of football and its fans. Groups that identified themselves by their origin or ideology saw in football and fans the opportunity to directly confront their rivals united under a banner and a common ideal, in search of a feeling of belonging, legitimacy or simple dominance over other groups. The term “ hooligans ”, which had been coined in 1890, was now attributed to those groups that clashed around the culture of European football.
It was in 1960 that European football fans began to demonstrate a level of organization that was not there before. Coats of arms, flags, slogans, hymns and songs that exalted the crowd, and not the team, appeared. The fans considered themselves so different that, even if they supported the same team, they differed and fought with each other.
Holiganism was seen by its participants as a sport in itself. Hierarchies between groups and supporters were formed according to the success of each group in their violent endeavors. Even today, hooligans persist, despite huge government efforts to try to stop and end the clashes. However, the confused and lost youth of the new middle class that has established itself over the past few decades still sees a point of support and familiarity within these groups.
