HOOLIGANISM HAS NO PLACE IN SOCCER
Ugly practice rears head again in Euro 2016
A few days in, and international soccer’s second-biggest tournament is a battleground, not only for Europe’s finest teams and players but also, lamentably, for the ignorant seam of idiocy that poisons what is known as the beautiful game.
Hooliganism, the moronic pursuit whereby rival fans use patriotic or tribal allegiance as an excuse for criminal thuggery, has reared its head in the European Championships in France.
It is an ugly head, a snarling, cursing, baiting, belligerent one, with concern for neither decency, the law nor the safety of innocents.
Across the country, violence erupted over the weekend, with scenes of riot police throwing tear gas, warp-minded men throwing beer bottles and the whole sorry saga throwing any hope of a peaceful event out the window.
Marseille became the early epicenter, yet it is sadly probable that other venues across that nation will be stained as the tournament progresses. It was in the southern port city where havoc reigned in the buildup to and aftermath of England’s 1-1 tie with Russia in Group B on Saturday.
Bloody exchanges occurred on the city’s central streets, then more. Since the 1980s, England fans have had a reputation as perpetrators of hooligan activity, a tag that might never be fully shed.
There was little respite as the weekend wore on, with police confirming violent clashes had taken place between fans of Germany and Ukraine, in the northern city of Lille, in the hours before the teams met in Group C.
Russia has seen a more recent explosion in hooliganism over the last decade. For some, the tournament is a chance to watch an outstanding level of soccer. For those with violent intent, it was a perfect excuse for a scrap.
In this instance the Russians have been identified as the primary instigators, and that country’s national soccer federation is likely to face sanctions, according to European soccer governing body UEFA. England appears to have escaped immediate punishment, though UEFA warned that either or both countries could be thrown out of the event if more flare-ups occur.
Hooligan groups are like playground bullies, determined to prove their own toughness and worth and knowing only one way to do it. Therefore local hooligans from Marseille also waded into the mix, as the police tried but failed to keep control.
Littering the Internet were images of punches hurled, chairs and tables tossed and bystanders bloodied in pregame skirmishes near the Stade Velodrome. Then, after the final whistle, Russian fans burst en masse through what should have been a security cordon to attack England supporters.
If hooliganism is a new concept to you, just know this: There are no innocents among those who go looking for trouble. The only innocence comes from those caught in the cross hairs, people going about their daily business who accidentally have taken a wrong turn onto the wrong street and end up as victims.
Hooliganism is soccer’s greatest scourge, one that appeared largely consigned to the past but was ready to appear, like a snake, when the conditions were right.
That is the case this summer. France is an easily accessible venue, a short ferry ride from England, a manageable flight from Eastern Europe. It is also compact, meaning fans of different teams often end up in the same city, on the same trains or within passing distance of each other.
In Nice, Poland and Northern Ireland fans fought before those teams were scheduled to square off Sunday.
Hooligan fights are often portraits of cowardice.
Men will use colleagues as barriers before lobbing beer bottles or other missiles at rivals 100 feet away. Some will rush up behind an opponent and deliver a sucker punch to the back of the head or the private parts.
Sometimes, but not as often as you might think, the combatants stand toe to toe, duking it out. That is often when the most damage is done. Kicks to the head of downed fighters and blows with brass knuckles or other weapons are commonplace. It is pathetic, isn’t it? One of the most stupid things about it all is that so many of the chief perpetrators are not disgruntled youths letting off steam but grown men, many in middle age, some with respectable, highpaying jobs.
“ISIS, where are you?” yelled one group of England fans as it clashed with North African immigrants based in France while in Marseille, according to reports.
The ignorance is mind-blowing. The violence springs up in a heartbeat, incited by a perceived slight or glance from a rival.
And then they are off again, rampaging and rioting, fighting and scampering away. Just soccer’s most loathsome subsection being a law unto itself, doing its worst, relishing the carnage, dirtying the sport’s name.