Soccer mob psychology ‘same as in a terror cell’

● What do people who blow up buses have in common with those who blow up in rage at soccer matches? Quite a bit, it seems.

In a recent study, Oxford University researchers found the same psychology to be prevalent in terror cells and among soccer fans, where personal and group identity meld and prompt people to do extreme things.

As World Cup hype buzzed this week, the 11 alleged soccer hooligans who caused havoc following a game between Kaizer Chiefs and Free State Stars at Moses Mabhida Stadium in April appeared in court.

“Social bonding and a desire to protect and defend other fans may be one of the main motivations not only for football hooliganism but extremist group behaviour in general,” the Oxford researchers said.

In South Africa there have been periodic incidents of soccer hooliganism, the most recent being the Moses Mabhida Stadium episode, where police and stadium security were overrun as fans invaded the pitch at the end of the game.

Several people were injured and millions of rands of property damaged. The 11 are charged with public violence and pitch invasion.

Nomfundo Mogapi, a clinical psychologist and executive director of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, believes mob mentality does contribute to some of the violence at football events.

“The thing about mob mentality is that it happens when there are heightened emotions.

“People feel emotionally charged and they reach a certain more heightened state, where the group becomes more important than the individual.

“In South Africa we have to also understand mob mentality within the context of what I call the psychological architecture of our society.

“There has been a lot of talk of us being a wounded nation. We are still carrying a collective trauma which we have not dealt with, whether it’s historical or present trauma.”

Mogapi said traumatised people did not respond well to those displaying power and authority, and in a stadium fans could vent their frustration in the presence of authority like police and security guards.