Where Did It All Begin?
The legendary Liverpool FC manager Bill Shankley was once asked if football was a matter of life or death. He was quoted as replying; "Oh no. It is much more important than that."
There are contradicting, everlasting arguments surrounding this, however the problem seems to have stemmed much deeper than thought, with the roots dating back as far as 1314.
During King Edward II's reign, he banned football, or mob football as it was known previously, as he thought it brought violence and havoc to the streets of his 'kingdom'.
There are contradicting, everlasting arguments surrounding this, however the problem seems to have stemmed much deeper than thought, with the roots dating back as far as 1314.
During King Edward II's reign, he banned football, or mob football as it was known previously, as he thought it brought violence and havoc to the streets of his 'kingdom'.
'there is great noise in the city caused by hustling over large balls from which many evils may arise which God forbid; we command and forbid, on behalf of the King, on pain of imprisonment, such game to be used in the city in the future'
**King Edward II - 13th April 1314**
**King Edward II - 13th April 1314**
The above timeline shows that football has always been a problem is England, far before the first recording of violence in 1880.
In the modern game, supporters are able to travel in their masses as the British transport system is so advanced, however it was a problem in the late 19th century therefore supporters committed their acts on opposition players. When travel started to improve, clubs could take groups of supporters to local away games and this gave hooligans the chance to test their strength against rival towns.
Hooliganism really began to flourish during the 1950's and 60's and became part of football on a weekly basis. Sets of supporters would try and get to each other on the streets or the terraces, even if that meant running across the pitch!
The peak of football hooliganism was definitely the 1970's and 80's when it became even more popular, organised and dangerous. Groups of fans began to join firms and arranged fights with oppositions. Tools such as knives started to be used and that is when we started to see deaths at football matches.
The prime minister at the time, Margaret Thatcher, did everything in her power to try and combat this by implementing a number of Acts of Parliament that can be seen in the timeline above.
As society moved on and realised how dangerous it was to partake in such events, punishment increased significantly and new technology such as CCTV was introduced and culprits began to be caught and banned.
In the 1990's and 00's hooliganism slowed down massively with only the rare case occurring, or so the police are trying to portray.
In an interview with The London Standard, a current active hooligan tells how he, even at 48-years-old, still manages to get the 'drug' he needs on a weekly basis - a fight at football.
He talks about how the hooligans do not fight on the street and at train stations like they did in the 1980's, but they are now much cleverer and can make arrangements before hand through mobile phones and social media. They are often able to remain undetected by the police, hence the lower figures for arrests that the police have been reporting.
In the last five years there have been a number of key incidents that have lead to a large number of arrests, not as bad as the 70's and 80's era, but could this be the return of the 'English disease'?
In the modern game, supporters are able to travel in their masses as the British transport system is so advanced, however it was a problem in the late 19th century therefore supporters committed their acts on opposition players. When travel started to improve, clubs could take groups of supporters to local away games and this gave hooligans the chance to test their strength against rival towns.
Hooliganism really began to flourish during the 1950's and 60's and became part of football on a weekly basis. Sets of supporters would try and get to each other on the streets or the terraces, even if that meant running across the pitch!
The peak of football hooliganism was definitely the 1970's and 80's when it became even more popular, organised and dangerous. Groups of fans began to join firms and arranged fights with oppositions. Tools such as knives started to be used and that is when we started to see deaths at football matches.
The prime minister at the time, Margaret Thatcher, did everything in her power to try and combat this by implementing a number of Acts of Parliament that can be seen in the timeline above.
As society moved on and realised how dangerous it was to partake in such events, punishment increased significantly and new technology such as CCTV was introduced and culprits began to be caught and banned.
In the 1990's and 00's hooliganism slowed down massively with only the rare case occurring, or so the police are trying to portray.
In an interview with The London Standard, a current active hooligan tells how he, even at 48-years-old, still manages to get the 'drug' he needs on a weekly basis - a fight at football.
He talks about how the hooligans do not fight on the street and at train stations like they did in the 1980's, but they are now much cleverer and can make arrangements before hand through mobile phones and social media. They are often able to remain undetected by the police, hence the lower figures for arrests that the police have been reporting.
In the last five years there have been a number of key incidents that have lead to a large number of arrests, not as bad as the 70's and 80's era, but could this be the return of the 'English disease'?