History Main / FootballHooligans

It's widely thought of as a [[BritishMediaTropes very British trope]], but [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_hooliganism hooliganism in football]] (and other sports) is prevalent around the world (even [[SoccerHatingAmericans in the United States]]) -- and as far as football is concerned, there are some very wild Es/{{Ultras}} in {{UsefulNotes/Spain}}, {{UsefulNotes/Italy}} and most Eastern European countries. That said, football hooliganism has been a scourge on British public life for generations, and it remains a defining British characteristic for foreigners (particularly Americans). The specific British tropes related to the phenomenon are the LondonGangster and TheYardies, groups which can overlap with hooligan populations. {{UsefulNotes/Scotland}} adds another dimension with the ViolentGlaswegian being part of the particularly violent Celtic-Rangers rivalry.

** Whether the national team loses or wins a match (particularly during FIFA World Cup / UEFA Euro times), you'll pretty much always hear of riots and burned cars there after said matches. Quite infamously, such things tend to happen and involve members of the Algerian diaspora in France whenever UsefulNotes/{{Algeria}} plays against France or wins matches in important competitions.
** The chaos surrounding the May 28, 2022 UEFA Champions League Final between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis escalated to quasi-''diplomatic crisis'' when France's minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin and Sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra falsely put all the blame on "Liverpool hooligans who bought 40.000 fake tickets". It turned out there was a whole unruly mob of young French people from the nearby Seine-Saint-Denis [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banlieue banlieue]] who came at the stadium and caused all sorts of troubles (there were multiple reports of aggressions, threats with ''machetes'', thefts and sexual assaults) and were massively allowed in the stadium without tickets due to very lenient stadium stewards with the same social background. The lack of security measures, the brutal anti-riot police response that hit British and Spanish supporters who didn't deserve it (and in some cases were already shocked by the aforementioned unruly mob if not victims of it) and the French governmental efforts to cover up that latter aspect (including Darmanin's lie) only made things worse and painted a pretty terrible picture of France's sports events and security issues two years before the UsefulNotes/OlympicGames of Paris. Some have speculated that the incidents weren't for nothing in the sizeable win of seats by the far-right party Rassemblement National at the legislative elections a couple weeks later, since the party advocates for tougher police responses and measures against delinquency from the banlieues.[[note]]Interestingly, before the match, French football legend and Paris area native Thierry Henry issued a stern warning on TV: "The final is in Saint-Denis, not Paris. Trust me, [[WretchedHive you don't want to be in Saint-Denis.]]"[[/note]]
** In terms of French club football, the rivalry between Olympique Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain is the most infamous and violent without a shadow of a doubt, a rivalry that is not only on sporting terms but also between the clubs' respective owners and most especially their hooligans. The first report of an incident between the two sets of supporters was in 1975, when Marseille ultras attacked PSG's team bus after the game over refereeing decisions they felt were favoring the Parisians; it would only get worse from there, with the biggest incident happening in 2009 after a league match between the two sides was postponed due to three PSG players having tested positive for swine flu -- PSG and OM ultras, having already arrived at the stadium, promptly started fighting one another leading to 20 injuries and 20 arrests. Finally, when PSG made it to the UEFA Champions League final in 2020 after beating RB Leipzig in the semifinals, one man was attacked by OM ultras simply for wearing a PSG shirt out in the open; when the Parisians lost the final to Bayern Munich, [[WeWinBecauseYouDidnt OM fans came down the streets to celebrate their rivals' loss that meant their team would remain the only French side to have won the Champions League for the time being.]]
*** Paris Saint-Germain's ultras groups were for some time locked in a CivilWar between its two major factions, the British hooligans-influenced ''Kop of Boulogne'' and the Italian ultras-inspired ''Virage Auteuil'', which culminated in then-club president Robin Leproux to kick all organized support groups out of Parc des Princes in 2010 after the death of a fan due to infighting. Since they couldn't show their support to the main team anymore, the ultras decided to attend the games of the club's women's section, which turned out to be their greatest ally for their return to the stadium. In 2016, the ultras -- now united as the Collectif Ultras Paris -- were once again allowed back into the Parc des Princes on the condition that they would never fight against one another ever again lest they would be banned from attending matches for good.

* In UsefulNotes/{{Israel}}, the most notorious hooligans are supporters of Beitar Jerusalem. Beitar's hardcore fans (known as [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast la Familia]]) are particularly known not just for hooliganism, but also for [[AbsoluteXenophobe hardcore xenophobia]] and LowerClassLout behavior. The large majority of Beitar's fanbase are descendants of Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews who were expelled from North Africa and Arab countries after 1948, who had historically been economically and socially disadvantaged in Israel; that may explain their extreme hatred of Muslims (reflected in some of their more charming chants as "Death to the Arabs", "May your village burn down" and "Muhammad is a fag son of a whore").[[note]]This doesn't explain why a visiting Israeli cabinet minister felt it was a good idea to join in with the chants, however[[/note]] Beitar doesn't so much have one particular rival team as they abuse every other team mercilessly. Other teams in Israel have passionate supporters, but their behavior is usually pretty civilized. Even the most intense rivalry, the Tel Aviv derby ([[=HaPoel=]] Tel Aviv and Maccabi Tel Aviv), rarely gets more intense than the usual trash talk between fans and the occasional fist fight.

It's widely thought of as a [[BritishMediaTropes very British trope]], but [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_hooliganism hooliganism in football]] (and other sports) is prevalent around the world (even [[SoccerHatingAmericans in the United States]]) -- and as far as football is concerned, there are some very wild Es/{{Ultras}} in Spain, Italy and most Eastern European countries. That said, football hooliganism has been a scourge on British public life for generations, and it remains a defining British characteristic for foreigners (particularly Americans). The specific British tropes related to the phenomenon are the LondonGangster and TheYardies, groups which can overlap with hooligan populations. Scotland adds another dimension with the ViolentGlaswegian being part of the particularly violent Celtic-Rangers rivalry.

* ComicBook/ThePowerpuffGirls are challenged to a football game by the Rowdyruff Boys in "Anything Boys Can Do, Squirrels Can Do Better" (the Rowdyruffs' comic book debut, from ''Cartoon Network Action Pack'' #1). Bubbles gets knocked out and filling in is Twitchy, the squirrel from the very first PPG issue in that series.

Ok, let's get this out of the way. This happens in every sport, but football is the most popular sport in the world and there is a reason it's the stereotypical hooligan attraction.

** The infamous "puto" chant that was originated in Guadalajara after they modified a chant invented in Monterrey to highlight a goal kick (that looks similar to an American football punt) and began to scream to the rival teams goalkeeper everytime he kicks a goal kick. The chant went to the point that it was even chanted in a NFL game between the New England Patriots and the Oakland Raiders in Mexico City (being the Kicker of the Raiders the main victim of that) and in several World Cups between 2006 and 2018. Even Guillermo Ochoa, heard the chant when Mexico had a catastrophic loss of 7-0 against Chile in the 2016 Copa America... from his own fans.
** However, the local Mexican football teams began to change from the familiy friendly "porras" (cheersquad) to the Barras Bravas, brougth by Club Pachuca in 1995 to allow the team to get more notoriety, followed by the rest of the teams except the extinct Tecos UAG. While at the beginning, the Barras were notorious for their antics during the games (like keep chanting while the Anthem ceremony was happening or to undress in cold games like happen in Toluca F.C. teams), the Barras began to turn more violent to the point to have big riots in the stadiums, the biggest one happened in Queretaro on March 5th 2022, where a game between the current champion Atlas and local team Queretaro FC. ended in a riot that ended with 26 injured fans (while non-officially some fans would have died).

** The infamous "puto" chant that was originated in Guadalajara after they modified a chant invented in Monterrey to highlight a goal kick (that looks similar to an American football punt) and began to scream to the rival teams goalkeeper everytime he kicks a goal kick. The chant went to the point that it was even chanted in a NFL game between the New England Patriots and the Oakland Raiders (being the Kicker of the Raiders the main victim of that) and in several World Cups between 2006 and 2018. Even Guillermo Ochoa, heard the chant when Mexico had a catastrophic loss of 7-0 against Chile in the 2016 Copa America... from his own fans.

* UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}} has some serious hooligans, especially for their national team. This creates issues when you take into account that ''(a)'' Mexico's national team is [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut talented but a perennial underachiever]], ''(b)'' Mexico has all manner of political issues, and ''(c)'' they end up playing every year against [[TheRival the United States]] and (gasp) ''don't always win''. Highlights include: a 1998 World Cup loss to Germany that led to a riot that killed a person; throwing full cups at opponents taking corner kicks, which [[{{Squick}} often aren't water or beer]];[[note]]When the 2016 Copa America was played in the United States, Mexico's opponents complained universally that Mexican fans -- of whom there were many, all over America -- were taking advantage of the stadiums' odd dimensions to do this, since they were designed mostly for UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball and put the fans much closer to the corners than most traditional soccer stadiums would[[/note]] a 2021 Nations League final match against the U.S. where they threw bottles at the American players (one of which concussed Gio Reyna); and the fanbase's refusal to cease their infamous "puto" chant, despite it being a homophobic slur, leading to FIFA banning fans from the team's first two 2022 World Cup qualifying matches. However, the local Mexican football teams began to change from the familiy friendly "porras" (cheersquad) to the Barras Bravas, brougth by Club Pachuca in 1995 to allow the team to get more notoriety, followed by the rest of the teams except the extinct Tecos UAG. While at the beginning, the Barras were notorious for their antics during the games (like keep chanting while the Anthem ceremony was happening or to undress in cold games like happen in Toluca F.C. teams), the Barras began to turn more violent to the point to have big riots in the stadiums, the biggest one happened in Queretaro on March 5th 2022, where a game between the current champion Atlas and local team Queretaro FC. ended in a riot that ended with 26 injured fans (while non-officially some fans would have died).

* UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}} has some serious hooligans, especially for their national team. This creates issues when you take into account that ''(a)'' Mexico's national team is [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut talented but a perennial underachiever]], ''(b)'' Mexico has all manner of political issues, and ''(c)'' they end up playing every year against [[TheRival the United States]] and (gasp) ''don't always win''. Highlights include: a 1998 World Cup loss to Germany that led to a riot that killed a person; throwing full cups at opponents taking corner kicks, which [[{{Squick}} often aren't water or beer]];[[note]]When the 2016 Copa America was played in the United States, Mexico's opponents complained universally that Mexican fans -- of whom there were many, all over America -- were taking advantage of the stadiums' odd dimensions to do this, since they were designed mostly for UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball and put the fans much closer to the corners than most traditional soccer stadiums would[[/note]] a 2021 Nations League final match against the U.S. where they threw bottles at the American players (one of which concussed Gio Reyna); and the fanbase's refusal to cease their infamous "puto" chant, despite it being a homophobic slur, leading to FIFA banning fans from the team's first two 2022 World Cup qualifying matches.

* UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} has [[CanadaEh three big stereotypes]] in fiction: it's really cold, the people are really nice, and [[CanadianEqualsHockeyFan the people really love hockey]]. The last bit is true, and it can sometimes manifest itself violently (contradicting the nice-guy stereotype):

* UsefulNotes/TheFootballWar between UsefulNotes/ElSalvador and UsefulNotes/{{Honduras}} is often cited as the worst example of football hooliganism -- 'cause, you know, there was a war. The war itself was caused by a variety of issues unrelated to football. However, it was triggered during the qualifying rounds for the 1970 UsefulNotes/FIFAWorldCup. The two countries played three matches against each other (one in El Salvador, one in Honduras, and the final match in UsefulNotes/MexicoCity), and fans of both countries clashed violently with each other at every match. El Salvador (who incidentally won two of the three games) wound up severing diplomatic ties with Honduras, claiming that "the government of Honduras has not taken any effective measures to punish these crimes which constitute genocide, nor has it given assurances of indemnification or reparations for the damages caused to Salvadorans." Read that again -- that's football violence escalating to accusations of ''genocide''. Though as stated, there are political considerations; Honduras had a sizeable Salvadorian immigrant population which El Salvador felt were being persecuted. Both sides fans actively disrupted their opponents preparations for the matches, and at least one girl committed suicide, becoming a martyr figure for the Salvadorian cause.

* [[Music/{{Madness}} Suggs']] memoir ''That Close'' includes a chapter about his teenage involvement in a Chelsea hooligan gang, until a particularly nasty trip to Charlton Athletic scared him straight.

** In "Marge Gamer," Lisa joins a soccer team (with Homer as a ref) and "flops" her way to victory. When called out on it, she watches a documentary about flopping. The documentary detailed one game which caused a riot that lasted for ''23 years''. Another game, in Brazil, and was so severe, it was enough to make a statue of the Virgin Mary come to life and "beat the living snot out of everyone."

* Some of the Maceman' voice clips in ''VideoGame/{{Stronghold}} 2'' are clearly intended to invoke the stereotype.

* In the ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' series, the English fighter Cammy White is stoic, proper (if slightly icy) young lady, befitting her role as an [=MI6=] agent, but so engrained is this trope that one of her command throw attacks is named “Hooligan Combination”.