2 different types, sadly go under same banner.

there is a clear difference between:

a) Spontaneous and usually low level disorder caused by fans at or around football matches (the type that typically occurs at England away matches)

and

(b) Deliberate and intentional violence involving organised gangs (or 'firms') who attach themselves to football clubs and fight firms from other clubs, sometimes a long way in time and space from a match.

sometimes tabloid newspapers and news affiliates within the media have a tendancy to label both under the same title of hooligan. much like the sun newspaper did during the hillsbrough disaster.

definitions from here

Flexibility?

it easy clear that the term football hooligan was created by the media to attract us the audience in. i found out on www.liv.ac.uk, that a style of reporting (sensationalist reporting) is used by tabloids to create impact and was rarely used before 1950. but during the time when organized fighting in football grounds came about it was used to hook audiences in by tabloids in an aim to sell more papers. the articles where 'edited for impact', very much like television programs are nowadays.

www.liv.ac.uk

Is it natural human facination with violence?

After looking at the puzzling world of the media and football violence, i decided to take a break and just watch some TV. after flicking through numerous channels i came across a documentry on football violence, quite frankly i was sick of the sight of it. so i went to the next channel up. on that channel there was a TV program being broadcasted about riots in other countries, these images startled me as looking identicle to that of the violence shown in the media at football matches. i then changed the channel again, this time car chases with cops shooting at bad guys. again i went anouther channel up, to be greeted by the site of extremely violent video games. then once more i changed the channel to find anouther program about football violence. it all started to become clear what the media's facination was with the football hooligan actually was, or more so "our" facination with the football hooligan.

by looking at the ammount of extremely violent television programs being shown, it is clear to see that we as a modern audience enjoy watching violence. we love watching fights and adrenaline pumped momments. this is our entertainment that the media gives us. and who more violent then a large croud of football hooligans readyto do battle with one anouther? we are facinated as an audience with there lives because it is so different, so un-normal. if they where anything but what they are the media wouldnt spend so much time covering it for us and almost gloryfying them as modern day heroes, similar to that of greek epics.

Ajax vs PSV Eindhoven postponed

Today a match between rivals Ajax and PSV Eindhoven postponed due to a police strike. the fear of fans rioting is too high. The mayor of Amsterdam spoke on dutch radio and said that the match would be unable to go through as scheduled because the absence of police would create unacceptable risks for public security.

all this in mind, many media outles have complained aboutthe matches not going ahead. the games between Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar has also been put off for today.

sorry ive not posted in quite a while, but im looking at the recent events within italy . only in February there was mass outrage in due to the tragic death of a policeman in a clash with fans during a riot. the riot was started because of local hooligans (ultra's) fighting in after a match between Catania and Palermo. after this a ban of football matches in italy took place, forcing UEFA and the italian FA to inspect all stadiums within Italy's top flight leagues and lower devision. so much in italy was domne to stop football hooliganism, but only recently a death of a lazio fan marred all progress of stopping football violance in italy. the fan was shot dead by a policeman after the game between lazio and internazionale (inter milan). what is startling about the whole incident is that the protest because of the shooting took place outside of Italian State TV RAI headquarters, a mnajor television and broadcasting centre in Italy. the general problem that the fans have with the media in italy is the portrayal of "all" fans being suspect to hooligan activities. this is why the police in italy are so "heavy" in dealing with fan problems.

British Cinema and The "Hooligan"

In British society nowadays football violance has pretty much been eradicated, but in british film it still lives on. This leaves the question "why?". its puzzling that the media would one momment condemn football violance and yet praise the latest adaption of hooliganism in the latest films, even more strange is that there are a lot of directors that will follow suite for this hunger. be it through admiration or curiosity is a social debate, the fact is that they are being made and more often then not they glorify what they are portraying.

The TV movie "The Firm" was made in 1988 and starred Gary Oldman as a football hooligan who wants to take his "Firm" into a european football tournament with other hooligans.
This movie was before the strand of typical hooligan movies came about. While garry oldman gives one of his best performances as the main character, this movie pretty much portrays the should be villains into heroes. The movie was made for channel 4 and because of that is seen as very limited, the violance is very blunt and too the point as well as shocking. The movie was hit with backlash by the media because it shows normal members of the public as workers in the week, turned hardcore hooligans by weekend and match day.

Shocking media acceptance of hooligans

After watching the documentry "football factory's: international" i found that in argentina unlike in the UK (where hooliganism is scrutinized but also glamourised) football violance is almost accepted as being a natural order. in live football matches the camera constantly zooms to the crowd and the football hooligans in the stands. the commentators would then react to something like this and name out the hooligans and even point out which "firm" they are with. its almost like the hooligans have as big a celebrity status as the football players in argentina.

the newspaper reports are just as blatent. the majority of newspapers see the hooligans as a twelth man on the field and in some ways positive. although these may be extreme case scenario's of media excetance, is our movie industry and music any different in the way they glamourise violance and football violance? surely they are the same thing.