Footbasll Grounds - Croiwd Behaviour

Crowd Behaviour

With their club shirts, their scarves, their hats, their rosettes, their flags and their songs, fans give football the colour and the atmosphere that can transform a Saturday League or Cup match into a great sporting occasion.

The supporters are usually more concerned with the quality of play of their own side rather than with that of the opposition - unless, of course, the opposition resort to foul play. However, they are rarely passive and if some do resort to unruly behaviour they can spoil the occasion and even disrupt the game.

Pitch invasions were more common in the early years of football than they are today mainly because:

Ground capacities were set at a much higher figure.

There were no perimeter fences to separate the crowds from the pitch.

There was not so much unruly behaviour either because:

Crowds, largely home supporters, seemed more good humoured.

There was less taunting because there were fewer visiting supporters. There were no motorways, fast coaches or ‘Inter-City’ trains and fewer people owned cars.

There was no television to spread copycat ideas of bad behaviour.

Once the game has started there is usually much less risk of violence, with rival fans content to hurl insults at each other rather than missiles.

If some fans find themselves in the wrong part of the terraces and surrounded by a large group of their rivals the interlopers may be jostled and sometimes fighting breaks out, in which case uniformed police officers or stewards move in quickly to restore order.

Violence at football grounds is often associated with the importance of a particular game when the stakes are high. However it cannot be stressed too strongly that serious riots are rare but when they do happen they can have tragic consequences. Two of the most recent were:

1985

Birmingham City at home to Leeds United in their last game of the season. Birmingham City had already secured promotion to the First Division as runners-up in the Second Division but if they won this game they could be Second Division champions. If Leeds United won this game they had a remote chance of promotion. Rival supporters invaded the pitch at half time. Play was held up for over half an hour. Further trouble occurred at the end of the game.

A wall collapses into the car park and a boy, not involved in the trouble, is killed. 148 policemen are injured together with 88 other people. These incidents take place on the same day as the Bradford fire.

At the Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Liverpool played Juventus (Italy) in the Final of the European Cup. Fighting broke out where only a wire fence separated Liverpool and Juventus fans. In the confusion and the crush 39 people died and almost 450 were injured. All English clubs were banned from European competitions until 1990. The ban on Liverpool continued after 1990 but was subsequently lifted.

1991

On 10 August 1991 The Football (Offences) Act 1991 became law. The following three activities are contrary to the Act and are arrestable offences:

Throwing of missiles onto the playing area or any area adjacent to the playing area or any area in which spectators or other persons are or may be present.

Chanting of an indecent or racial nature by two or more people.

Going onto the playing area without lawful authority.

The Act was amended in 1999 to make it an offence for an individual to take part in racialist or indecent chanting whether alone or with others.

It is claimed that the press wildly exaggerate many of the incidents at football grounds in order to fabricate the sort of stories that sell newspapers.

Closed Cicuit TV

Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) has been installed at all English Football League grounds. It is of value to police because:

It records incidents of disorder and identifies offenders.

It allows them to keep a watchful eye inside and outside the ground and

gives early warning of possible trouble.

Video recordings may lead to the arrest of people who thought they had escaped detection.

The courts have found CCTV evidence to be of value in reaching decisions. Many people prosecuted for their part in the riots at Birmingham and Heysel were arrested, days and even weeks after the event, on the evidence provided by CCTV cameras.

Note: it is strongly recommended that as part of this project the children are taken on a visit to a football club. Most professional football clubs have educational schemes which include school visits to their club. As this will be during school hours the ground will of course be empty. Children should be introduced to the work in this section before the visit. This will enable them to ask questions about:

the safety certificate.

past, present and future ground capacities

any future plans for ground development

and to check for themselves: