A couple of weeks back this bar - the Foundry Hill in
Bingley - had its windows smashed in, stock destroyed or stolen and customers threatened and intimidated. By men who claimed to be supporters of Bradford City - a "firm" known as Ointment. I am sure that up and down the country people can tell of similar tales - whether it is of the Brighton Headhunters, Palace's Dirty 30 or the Service Crew from Leeds. For all the adoption of a particular badge, these men are more lovers of violence than lovers of football.
Yesterday evening saw the seemingly inevitable violence break out at the game between West Ham and
Millwall - long-standing rivals in London. Others like
The West Ham Process and
Darren Lewis in the Daily Mirror described the experience first hand and it did not sound pleasant or enjoyable - emotions we should be able to associate with a sporting occasion.
Some - like our
sports minister - have responded with the obvious knee-jerk condemnation accompanied by calls for books to be thrown and stones not to be left unturned. I find this unhelpful since it heaps too much of the blame on the police, the stewards, the club and the ordinary fan. These reactions, however much they might be understandable, do not get to the heart of the matters, do not ask why such violence takes place and simply fuel the calls for more draconian restrictions on football - and by extension other sports as well.
Other observers - before and after the game - seem more wise, more thoughtful and should be paid more attention.
Peter Preston in the Guardian reacts as a long-standing
Millwall fan by
saying it's not the game but the people. And before the game West Ham fan and regeneration writer,
Julian Dobson asked what it is that creates divisions and prejudice - in society generally as much as in football.
And these writers appreciate that this hooliganism, this violence, reflects our wider society and culture - football is victim not a perpetrator. The solution - if there is one - lies within the minds of those who join these "firms" of hooligans. And with a society that is at best equivocal towards violence and at worst rewards it with license.
