Bitesize Rants #1 (Revisited): Football Hooliganism and EURO 2016

My post on football hooliganism couldn’t have been more aptly timed. The levels of violence witnessed in French cities over the last couple of weeks has been shocking, and some of the videos of English and Russians in Marseille doing the rounds on Twitter were absolutely abhorrent.

Before we rush to judge fans from either of these nations as the sole perpetrators of this behaviour, it is worth noting that this is not an isolated incident. During this tournament alone, there have been reports of fighting by Welsh, Irish and Croatian fans.

This builds on my previous post on the Respect campaign in the UK, which is actually part of a wider movement created by UEFA in 2008, designed to 'work towards unity and respect across gender, race, religion and ability'. So far, it has consisted of a video where different people say 'No to Racism' in various languages, which does nothing but demonstrate that there are some weird looking footballers of all races (which I suppose is equality!). 

But I digress. My main point is that, just as with the UK, it doesn't appear to be working. Now some may suggest that this is still just a minority, and while that is true, it doesn't detract from the fact that this is happening just as much (if not more) than it was 10 or 15 years ago.

So what can be done? Well, first of all, UEFA need to be strong and make good on their threats. This 'suspended ban' stuff is laughable, and for two reasons. Firstly, because I can make a strong bet that the majority of those guilty of this violence couldn’t care less about the football, or their team, and have only turned up to fight.

Secondly, because this punishment means precisely nothing. I understand jurisdictional issues, but I refuse to believe that the French are saying that UEFA are not allowed to punish! It just makes a mockery of the penal system, and demonstrates the weakness of the organisation.

So a tip to UEFA – if you want to say you have a ‘zero tolerance’ policy on anything, please actually stick to it. Stop making pointless videos and get rid of those hooligans that have turned up just to fight. And to those English ‘fans’ that are guilty of this, I wish our jurisdiction allowed us to refuse you entry back.

Bitesize Rants #1: The Respect Campaign and Football Hooliganism

In my day job (I know, can you believe that being a keyboard warrior on inconsequential topics isn't a full-time role?!), I was recently given the task of being more succinct. As some of you may have noticed, I have a tendency to use 10 words when one will do. So, I thought I'd challenge myself in a new segment I've called 'Bitesize Rants'. The premise is simple - the same level of anger and outrage, neatly fit into just 400 words.

The attack made on Manchester United’s team bus before their crucial must win game against West Ham highlights something that we’ve known for some time – football hooliganism is far from dead.

This is not my forum for attacking West Ham fans, as I want to focus on the clearly dramatic impact that the much discussed Respect campaign has had.

As a child watching football, I was all too familiar with the sight of players surrounding and berating the referee, with Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira sticking in my memory as the worst examples. As a teenager, I experienced this first-hand from parents of under-11s games, with some of the abuse received frankly shocking. To combat this, and the continual threat of off-field violence, the FA introduced the Respect campaign, an umbrella for anti-racism and pro-fairness in football. This was also designed to paint football to kids as a friendly and respectful sport, and give them role models they can look up to.

Has it made a difference? Clearly not as much as they’d hope, if Tuesday’s events are anything to go by. It’s certainly true that referees are not as bombarded by people after every decision, but the abuse from both the players and the fans continues to be prevalent at every level. Just read Wayne Rooney’s lips when the camera pans to him, and you’ll learn some new vocabulary you didn’t want! It also sets a worrying double standard, as some offences are punished and others simply aren’t!

It certainly doesn’t help that footballers don’t paint themselves in a good and respectful light as role models for kids. For every Vincent Kompany there is a Joey Barton, and every Claudio Ranieri has a Neil Warnock. The very fact that proven racists Jamie Vardy, Luis Suarez and John Terry are so revered among sections of football fans is alarming, and highlights the scale of the problem remaining.

So while West Ham have reacted quickly to the whole bus incident, the events should act as a warning shot across the bows of the FA. The Respect campaign is not hard-hitting enough, and for the sake of thousands of Sunday League referees across the country, football’s governing body needs to have a rethink. Try coming down hard on every type of disrespect, and not set a loophole for poor role models by letting some players get away with it.