Last weekend’s events down in Melbourne have again highlighted the need for the greater emphasis placed on how football fans are policed in this country.
Now I could (and did for my degree 20 years ago) write a paper on the theories behind the roots and causes of football hooliganism…but that’s a whole different topic….what I’d like to look at is the area of crowd management and note I use the term management rather than control.
A great starting point is to accept that football fans support their teams in a uniquely tribal manner…if you can’t get your head around that then please stick to commenting on things you do understand. Parallels with other sports just don’t stack up….accept that football is unique and requires specific skills in crowd management and also appreciate that for all the alleged problems football arrest rates run consistently some way below those of most well attended sporting events. The UK police really began to make in-roads into reducing football hooliganism when got their heads around this and tried to remove the “them and us” between supporter and policeman/steward. The removal of the fences post Hillsborough expedited this as it’s more difficult to think of someone as an animal if they’re not trapped in a cage.
It’s also important to recognise and understand the difference between someone following their team passionately and someone intent on causing trouble…. Don’t condemn the whole due to actions of a very small minority…and it is a very small minority. I witnessed first hand that feeling for many years for daring to support England at major football tournaments…the assumption everyone following England is a hooligan is as misguided as some of the media beat ups coming out in the press this year and after this weekend. No-one’s denying there are some individuals on either side that seem to be intent on giving the press the headlines they want but if you treat everyone like monkeys don’t be surprised if you cop a few more nuts!
Indeed one of the biggest strides forward in the UK was when they police stopped thinking of every fan as a potential hooligan and started looking instead to weed out the individuals who consistently instigate the trouble and all too often take many more people along for the ride thanks to the comfort blanket of anonymity a football crowd can provide. These people would cause trouble wherever they found themselves...football just provided the most accessible and convenient platform for them as was proved when they took things out of the grounds and into car parks and service stations when CCTV meant they could no long bank on being undetected inside English grounds. Throwing coins, bottles and other projectiles from the safety of a crowd into another crowd is one of the most cowardly acts imaginable…these people are not football fans...they're cowards pure and simple and should be openly ridiculed as such.
As my new issue of Heroes and Villains – the excellent Aston Villa fanzine I subscribe to (www.heroesandvillains.net) - landed in my post box last week one article stood out to me and it was an interview with a PC Scott Hamilton who is Aston Villa’s Football Liaison Officer. It was a fascinating insight into his role and I believe there’s a lot we can learn from this sort of understanding police work…especially given the hard lessons English clubs have learnt over the years.
On his average week
“Monday’s my day off if there’s been a match. Then for the rest of the week, it depends on whether there’s a game at Villa Park at the weekend. If there is I’ll be organizing the police operation for the match together with my sergeant. We’ll decide on the number of officers to be deployed, where they’ll be and what they’ll be doing…. I’ll talk to my opposite number at the away club so we’ll know how many supporters they’re bringing, how they’re getting here, the number of coaches, that sort of thing.”
On his matchday at Villa Park.
“First I’ll meet the visiting officers and accompany them as they travel around. We’ll try to locate groups of supporters, sometimes they may be in the city centre or closer to the ground. We’ll keep an eye on them, look out for anyone who’s banned, see if there are any known troublemakers grouped together….afterwards we’ll keep an eye out for any groups we’ve seen before the match and make sure they either disperse or head off home without any problems.”
On his role for away games.
“I’ve told them how many tickets Villa have sold, how many we expect to travel, how we expect they’ll be getting there and any intelligence we’ve received about who might be going plus a general report on how Villa supporters have behaved on their travels this season….You’ll see me for a while standing outside the away turnstiles. Most regulars (fans) know me and I’m always available to assist with any problems they might be having. After the game I’ll make sure everyone gets away without any trouble. For example, if a group are still in a pub I might pop in to remind them what time the last train leaves.”
Does he take any notice of hooligan web sites.
“No. It’s the old adage – if they’re talking about it, it’s not going to happen. It’s a bit of a game to them. They know we’re reading about what they’re supposed to be up to and we know they know.”
Given there were 77 Villa fans arrested last season does this mean hooliganism is still a concern?
“Naturally there’s still problem because people are still getting arrested. Bit in the face of the figure you’ve just stated, it’s a very small problem. You’ll never get a situation where nobody oversteps the mark….When you’ve got so many people in an area, a lot of them have been drinking and passions are high it would just be too much to ask.”
Now I don’t believe the game is big enough or the problem widespread enough for the police to go to these lengths (yet) so the onus may fall on the clubs to appoint a security professional to be the link between police, stewards and fans to minimize potential flashpoints.
I also believe the FFA should create a supporters forum whereby each supporter group nominates one of their own to represent the fans in a monthly conference call with the FFA to air any grievances and find solutions to any potential problems. Given the FFA have based their whole season 3 marketing campaign around the atmosphere these same fans create week in week out they should be doing all they can to ensure these fans are not marginalized rather supported in their efforts to bring the unique atmosphere to football in this country.
Similar to the conference calls the commercial and media managers have with the FFA give the supporters the same platform with a monthly supporter’s conference call where both parties can share and discuss any issues arising both good and bad. The FFA can get intelligence on any tensions that may be rising and the fans themselves can discuss between themselves any issues they are facing with respective venues/security/police and the FFA can choose to get involved where necessary to support the fans.
The respective representatives communicate to their fellow fans via their web sites/email groups that there is now a two way channel of communication to the FFA and that all communication should be directed to their recognized supporter rep. The rep is responsible for collecting all relevant feedback/grievances/issues in time for the monthly conference call.
Each supporter group then also has an equivalent opposite number at each club which can hopefully lead to more open communication between traveling fans and home support leading to less potential tension…depending on the rivalry and the numbers involved this could involve home supporters hosting away fans or in certain instances feeding back where away fans should avoid.
The vast majority of fans I’ve met from all sides want to engage in active partisan support of their team but have no interest in this escalating into violence. However, my experience watching football all over the world has shown me that knowledgable, understanding and co-operative policing (such as that practiced by Scott Hamilton) goes further than anything to dispelling tensions at games. Knowing what is banter between fans or a situation that has a genuine potential to escalate in to something more serious is critical and I saw first hand at the Victory v Sydney game last season where the police let off pepper spray in a confined space (that they had created by locking the exit next to the Sydney fans) how insensitive policing can result in many more people being involved in a negative experience and many more negative column inches for the game in a media world desperate for anything to put football back in its box.
But for us to expect a change in attitude we must first show we are willing to self police. Mindless coin and bottle throwing whether at rival fans, players or referees has no place in our game and I will be the first to grab anyone I see doing this by the scruff of the neck and give them a clip round the ear myself or deliver them to the nearest copper to teach them a lesson because I want to be able to continue drinking at games, continue standing at games and continue firing the odd well chosen expletive in any direction I see fit without fear of eviction and I will not let a small group of idiots ruin the way I've supported football for 30 years.
Make no mistake. The future of the game is in the hands of the supporters. Let’s not drop the ball.
*Special thanks to Dave Woodhall of Heroes and Villains and PC Scott Hamilton for allowing me to share extracts of his interview with the Australian public.
Now I could (and did for my degree 20 years ago) write a paper on the theories behind the roots and causes of football hooliganism…but that’s a whole different topic….what I’d like to look at is the area of crowd management and note I use the term management rather than control.
A great starting point is to accept that football fans support their teams in a uniquely tribal manner…if you can’t get your head around that then please stick to commenting on things you do understand. Parallels with other sports just don’t stack up….accept that football is unique and requires specific skills in crowd management and also appreciate that for all the alleged problems football arrest rates run consistently some way below those of most well attended sporting events. The UK police really began to make in-roads into reducing football hooliganism when got their heads around this and tried to remove the “them and us” between supporter and policeman/steward. The removal of the fences post Hillsborough expedited this as it’s more difficult to think of someone as an animal if they’re not trapped in a cage.
It’s also important to recognise and understand the difference between someone following their team passionately and someone intent on causing trouble…. Don’t condemn the whole due to actions of a very small minority…and it is a very small minority. I witnessed first hand that feeling for many years for daring to support England at major football tournaments…the assumption everyone following England is a hooligan is as misguided as some of the media beat ups coming out in the press this year and after this weekend. No-one’s denying there are some individuals on either side that seem to be intent on giving the press the headlines they want but if you treat everyone like monkeys don’t be surprised if you cop a few more nuts!
Indeed one of the biggest strides forward in the UK was when they police stopped thinking of every fan as a potential hooligan and started looking instead to weed out the individuals who consistently instigate the trouble and all too often take many more people along for the ride thanks to the comfort blanket of anonymity a football crowd can provide. These people would cause trouble wherever they found themselves...football just provided the most accessible and convenient platform for them as was proved when they took things out of the grounds and into car parks and service stations when CCTV meant they could no long bank on being undetected inside English grounds. Throwing coins, bottles and other projectiles from the safety of a crowd into another crowd is one of the most cowardly acts imaginable…these people are not football fans...they're cowards pure and simple and should be openly ridiculed as such.
As my new issue of Heroes and Villains – the excellent Aston Villa fanzine I subscribe to (www.heroesandvillains.net) - landed in my post box last week one article stood out to me and it was an interview with a PC Scott Hamilton who is Aston Villa’s Football Liaison Officer. It was a fascinating insight into his role and I believe there’s a lot we can learn from this sort of understanding police work…especially given the hard lessons English clubs have learnt over the years.
On his average week
“Monday’s my day off if there’s been a match. Then for the rest of the week, it depends on whether there’s a game at Villa Park at the weekend. If there is I’ll be organizing the police operation for the match together with my sergeant. We’ll decide on the number of officers to be deployed, where they’ll be and what they’ll be doing…. I’ll talk to my opposite number at the away club so we’ll know how many supporters they’re bringing, how they’re getting here, the number of coaches, that sort of thing.”
On his matchday at Villa Park.
“First I’ll meet the visiting officers and accompany them as they travel around. We’ll try to locate groups of supporters, sometimes they may be in the city centre or closer to the ground. We’ll keep an eye on them, look out for anyone who’s banned, see if there are any known troublemakers grouped together….afterwards we’ll keep an eye out for any groups we’ve seen before the match and make sure they either disperse or head off home without any problems.”
On his role for away games.
“I’ve told them how many tickets Villa have sold, how many we expect to travel, how we expect they’ll be getting there and any intelligence we’ve received about who might be going plus a general report on how Villa supporters have behaved on their travels this season….You’ll see me for a while standing outside the away turnstiles. Most regulars (fans) know me and I’m always available to assist with any problems they might be having. After the game I’ll make sure everyone gets away without any trouble. For example, if a group are still in a pub I might pop in to remind them what time the last train leaves.”
Does he take any notice of hooligan web sites.
“No. It’s the old adage – if they’re talking about it, it’s not going to happen. It’s a bit of a game to them. They know we’re reading about what they’re supposed to be up to and we know they know.”
Given there were 77 Villa fans arrested last season does this mean hooliganism is still a concern?
“Naturally there’s still problem because people are still getting arrested. Bit in the face of the figure you’ve just stated, it’s a very small problem. You’ll never get a situation where nobody oversteps the mark….When you’ve got so many people in an area, a lot of them have been drinking and passions are high it would just be too much to ask.”
Now I don’t believe the game is big enough or the problem widespread enough for the police to go to these lengths (yet) so the onus may fall on the clubs to appoint a security professional to be the link between police, stewards and fans to minimize potential flashpoints.
I also believe the FFA should create a supporters forum whereby each supporter group nominates one of their own to represent the fans in a monthly conference call with the FFA to air any grievances and find solutions to any potential problems. Given the FFA have based their whole season 3 marketing campaign around the atmosphere these same fans create week in week out they should be doing all they can to ensure these fans are not marginalized rather supported in their efforts to bring the unique atmosphere to football in this country.
Similar to the conference calls the commercial and media managers have with the FFA give the supporters the same platform with a monthly supporter’s conference call where both parties can share and discuss any issues arising both good and bad. The FFA can get intelligence on any tensions that may be rising and the fans themselves can discuss between themselves any issues they are facing with respective venues/security/police and the FFA can choose to get involved where necessary to support the fans.
The respective representatives communicate to their fellow fans via their web sites/email groups that there is now a two way channel of communication to the FFA and that all communication should be directed to their recognized supporter rep. The rep is responsible for collecting all relevant feedback/grievances/issues in time for the monthly conference call.
Each supporter group then also has an equivalent opposite number at each club which can hopefully lead to more open communication between traveling fans and home support leading to less potential tension…depending on the rivalry and the numbers involved this could involve home supporters hosting away fans or in certain instances feeding back where away fans should avoid.
The vast majority of fans I’ve met from all sides want to engage in active partisan support of their team but have no interest in this escalating into violence. However, my experience watching football all over the world has shown me that knowledgable, understanding and co-operative policing (such as that practiced by Scott Hamilton) goes further than anything to dispelling tensions at games. Knowing what is banter between fans or a situation that has a genuine potential to escalate in to something more serious is critical and I saw first hand at the Victory v Sydney game last season where the police let off pepper spray in a confined space (that they had created by locking the exit next to the Sydney fans) how insensitive policing can result in many more people being involved in a negative experience and many more negative column inches for the game in a media world desperate for anything to put football back in its box.
But for us to expect a change in attitude we must first show we are willing to self police. Mindless coin and bottle throwing whether at rival fans, players or referees has no place in our game and I will be the first to grab anyone I see doing this by the scruff of the neck and give them a clip round the ear myself or deliver them to the nearest copper to teach them a lesson because I want to be able to continue drinking at games, continue standing at games and continue firing the odd well chosen expletive in any direction I see fit without fear of eviction and I will not let a small group of idiots ruin the way I've supported football for 30 years.
Make no mistake. The future of the game is in the hands of the supporters. Let’s not drop the ball.
*Special thanks to Dave Woodhall of Heroes and Villains and PC Scott Hamilton for allowing me to share extracts of his interview with the Australian public.
