UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Understanding football hooliganism : a comparison of six Western European football clubs Spaaij, R.F.J. Publication date 2007 Document Version Final published version Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Spaaij, R. F. J. (2007). Understanding football hooliganism : a comparison of six Western European football clubs. Vossiuspers. http://nl.aup.nl/books/9789056294458-understanding- football-hooliganism.html General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:01 Oct 2021 AUP/Spaaij 11-10-2006 12:54 Pagina 1 R UvA Thesis amón Spaaij Hooliganism Understanding Football Understanding Football Hooliganism Faculty of A Comparison of Social and Behavioural Sciences Six Western European Football Clubs Ramón Spaaij Ramón Spaaij is Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Amsterdam and a Research Fellow at the Amsterdam School for Social Science Research. Football hooliganism periodically generates widespread political and public anxiety. In spite of the efforts made and resources invested over the past decades, football hooliganism is still perceived by politicians, policymakers and media as a disturbing social problem. This highly readable book provides the first systematic and empirically grounded comparison of football hooliganism in different national and local contexts. Focused around the six Western European football clubs on which the author did his research, the book shows how different clubs experience and understand football hooliganism in different ways. The development and effects of anti-hooligan policies are also assessed. The emphasis throughout is on the importance of context, social interaction and collective identity for understanding football hooliganism. This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in football culture, hooliganism and collective violence. ™xHSTAPGy294458z UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM Understanding Football Hooliganism The research for this book was funded by the Amsterdam School for Social Science Research (ASSR) and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Cover design: René Staelenberg, Amsterdam Cover illustration: Kees Spruijt ISBN-10 90 5629 445 8 ISBN-13 978 90 5629 445 8 NUR 756 © Vossiuspers UvA – Amsterdam University Press, 2006 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the author of the book. Understanding Football Hooliganism A Comparison of Six Western European Football Clubs ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam op gezag van de Rector Magnificus prof. mr. P.F. van der Heijden ten overstaan van een door het College van Promoties ingestelde commissie, in het openbaar te verdedigen in de Aula der Universiteit op dinsdag 16 januari 2007, te 10.00 uur door Ramón Fredrik Johan Spaaij geboren te ’s-Gravenhage Promotiecommissie Promotor: Prof. dr. mr. C.J.M. Schuyt Co-promotor: Dr. R. Stokvis Overige leden: Prof. dr. G. Baumann Prof. dr. M. van Bottenburg Prof. dr. E. Dunning Prof. dr. G. Engbersen Prof. dr. J.C. Rath Faculteit der Maatschappij- en Gedragswetenschappen For Ingmar You who are in power have only the means that money produces, we who are in expectation have those which devotion prompts. Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo Contents Acknowledgements xi Introduction 1 Part I Football Hooliganism as a Transnational Phenomenon 1 Football Hooliganism: Concepts, Theories and Contexts 9 Introduction 9 What is football hooliganism? 10 Sociological approaches and their limitations 23 Fan cultures as glocal phenomena 31 Aspects of hooligan violence 34 Conclusion 53 2 Research Outline and Methodology 54 Introduction 54 Four theoretical themes 54 Landscapes of fear: the good, the bad and the ugly in football stigmas 58 A methodological note 66 Conclusion 75 Part II Football Hooliganism in Fan Cultures: National and Local Contexts 3 Setting the Stage: On the Emergence and Development of Football Hooliganism in England, the Netherlands and Spain 76 Introduction 76 Origins and development of the ‘English disease’ 77 Football hooliganism in the Netherlands: patterns of continuity and change 92 Ultras, hooligans and supporters: politics and violence in Spanish football 105 vii Conclusion 120 4 ‘Them Were The Days’: The Past and Present of Football Hooliganism at West Ham United 122 Introduction 122 Football in the community: the local rootedness of West Ham fan culture 123 ‘War on the terraces’: the emergence of football hooliganism 129 ‘Birch these thugs’: responses to football hooliganism 138 Terrace legends: nostalgia or revival? 146 Conclusion 157 5 Football Culture in SW6: Fulham FC, the ‘Friendly’ Club 160 Introduction 160 ‘Feeling Fulhamish’: the sources of Fulham fan culture 161 The emergence and development of football hooliganism at Fulham 170 ‘Not for the likes of us’: football violence and cultural trauma 176 Conclusion 183 6 ‘Rotterdam Hooligans!’: The Origins and Evolution of Football Hooliganism at Feyenoord 186 Introduction 186 Sterker door strijd: football and working-class culture in South Rotterdam 187 ‘Trouble on the terraces’: the development of football hooliganism 192 Football hooliganism after ‘Beverwijk’: threat and response 201 Conclusion 215 7 ‘Decency and Tradition’: Continuity and Change in Spectator Behaviour at Sparta Rotterdam 218 Introduction 218 The making of a ‘gentlemen’s’ club 219 ‘Not for the likes of us’: the place of violence in Sparta fan culture 224 Contesting traditions? The rise and development of the Sparta Youth Crew 234 Conclusion 245 viii 8 Orgulloso de ser perico: Politics, Violence and the Ultras of RCD Espanyol 248 Introduction 248 Fan culture and the politics of Catalan football 249 Siempre contra la peste culé: the rise of the ultras 255 The crisis of football hooliganism: official and grassroots responses 265 Conclusion 276 9 Cultural Heritage at Stake? The Emergence and Development of Football Hooliganism at FC Barcelona 278 Introduction 278 Més que un club: the meaning and identity of FC Barcelona 279 Passió blaugrana sense límits: the emergence of football hooliganism 287 Fragmentation and crisis: the development of inter-group relations 294 ‘Zero tolerance’: the transformation of FC Barcelona’s security regime 303 Conclusion 310 Part III Conclusions and Theoretical Implications 10 Club Cultures and Subcultures: Why Context Matters 313 Introduction 313 The emergence and diffusion of hooligan subcultures 314 The extent and nature of football hooliganism: national and local contexts 327 The social organization of football hooliganism 338 Conclusion 345 11 Transformations in Football Hooliganism: Formal and Informal Policies and Their Effects 347 Introduction 347 Tackling football hooliganism: the development of anti-hooligan policies 348 Street-level negotiations: the importance of social interaction 352 The changing geographical meaning of the stadium 361 ix Conclusion 365 12 Constructing Hooligan Identities 367 Introduction 367 Focal concerns of football hooliganism 367 Habitus and the manifestation of football hooliganism in fan cultures 386 The commodification of football hooliganism 398 Conclusion 405 Notes 409 Bibliography 422 Samenvatting (Dutch summary) 470 Index 479 x Acknowledgements The process of researching and writing this book has been long and winding. My prolonged stays in foreign countries and localities have helped me experience and appreciate the complex social, cultural and historical underpinnings of football fan cultures. It is clear to me that without the great variety of people contributing to the research project, each in their own ways, this book would never have been realized. Regretfully, not all can be personally acknowledged since many of those I have spoken to were guaranteed anonymity. I can therefore only mention some of the people who have offered me such good-natured support and assistance. First and foremost, I thank Kees Schuyt for his encouraging advice and kindness. His enthusiasm has been a driving force from the beginning. Without his efforts this study would have amounted to only a fraction of what it has become. I am grateful to Ruud Stokvis for his helpful comments on drafts of this book and for our lengthy, stimulating discussions. His expertise in the field of sports sociology was an indispensable source of inspiration to my work. I thank the Amsterdam School for Social Science Research